Lessons
by Horridporrid
Summary: [MirokuKagome] Kagome needs a favor. Miroku is just the monk to help her. Shockingly bad behavior ensues!
1. Daydreams

Title: Lessons

  
  


Author: Horridporrid

  
  


Rating: R (to be on the safe side)

  
  


Spoilers: Nothing specific. But anything up to episode #52 is fair game.

  
  


Summary: [Miroku/Kagome] Kagome needs a favor. Miroku is just the monk to help her. Shockingly bad behavior ensues!

  
  


Disclaimer: You know how in Samurai Jack, Jack's clothes are always getting ripped off? Does that happen a lot to Miroku? No? Yeah, that's cause I got no ownership. More's the pity.

  
  


Mea Culpa: So this is totally self-betad. Any errors are therefore completely and totally my fault. I just hope to God everyone's name is spelled right. Welcome to my paranoia.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter One: In which our hero daydreams and an offer is made in jest.

  
  
  
  


Miroku lay on his back, hands cradling his head, and watched the clouds drift slowly by. It was a luxury the young monk did not often have. The prayer beads wrapped around his left hand were reminder enough of that. But a demon had been defeated, a village had been saved, and a jewel shard had been collected. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, the grass was soft, and the gently buzzing insects were harmless. All that could change by tomorrow, or even in the next few hours. Right now, however, Miroku's biggest concern was figuring out if that one cloud looked more like two fish swimming or a young woman with reality-defying breasts.

  
  


He had finally decided that if he squinted just right the woman won, when he heard someone approaching. Turning his head slightly he saw Kagome cresting the hill. Unfortunately the wind decided to die down so her short kimono behaved. But on the good side she wasn't running or screaming or showing any of the usual signs of impending doom, so he figured his lazy day was safe for the moment.

  
  


"Digesting?" she called out as she made her way towards him. 

  
  


"I don't think I'll ever have to eat again!" The villagers had been very grateful. And very good cooks. "Please tell me we aren't leaving yet."

  
  


"Oh no. They're letting us stay in one of their houses tonight. I just had to get away from all that food."

  
  


"Then join me," Miroku offered.

  
  


With a quiet sigh, Kagome sat down next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest. It said something about how comfortable he was that Miroku didn't shift to take advantage of the view he knew her position and outfit provided. Instead he closed his eyes, letting the soft wind blow errant strands of hair across his forehead, and put his imagination to work.

  
  


"It's beautiful here," Kagome said after a while.

  
  


"Mmm." Miroku kept his eyes closed and tried to settle on a color of undergarments. Pink was always good, but there was something about purple. Had he ever seen Kagome in purple? He could hear her shifting beside him.

  
  


"You were really amazing this morning."

Purple it was then. With little pink hearts maybe? What Kagome just said registered. Miroku opened his eyes and stared up at her blankly.

  
  


"Against the wasp demon," she added helpfully.

  
  


"Oh. Um." Confused, Miroku fell back on good manners. "Thank you."

  
  


"I mean, you fought really well," Kagome said earnestly. "You're very good with your staff."

  
  


And there were a number of ways Miroku could take THAT particular statement, but he wrestled down the temptation to run with the opening offered and settled for a simple thank you. "I've had years of training," he couldn't help adding. Then he felt himself make a suggestive leer. With a wince, he braced himself for the slap he knew was coming.

  
  


The slap that Kagome would deliver any second now. As soon as she finished stretching herself out beside him and staring deeply into his eyes. As soon as she finished glancing down at his mouth, moistening her own lips with her little pink tongue. "I can tell," she said, nodding solemnly. "You're always so strong and sure of yourself."

  
  


Miroku eyes widened in shock. Was Kagome trying to...?

  
  


"Eep!" Kagome sat up and covered her suddenly flaming red face with her hands. "There's no way I can do this," she stammered.

  
  


Stamping down hard on his overactive imagination, because there was no way what he thought had just happened had really just happened, Miroku sat up. "What can't you do, Kagome?"

  
  


She mumbled into her hands, and this time he couldn't make out the words. Any twinge of regret for the lazy afternoon he'd been enjoying was swallowed up with worry for the distressed girl in front of him. 

  
  


"Kagome?"

  
  


"This is so humiliating," she muttered.

  
  


"Kagome, please." Miroku used his 'soothing' voice, guaranteed to make the most suspicious of women trust him completely. "You know you can talk to me."

  
  


With a deep sigh, Kagome dropped her hands and faced him. "Souta has a girlfriend."

  
  


Miroku raised an eyebrow. That statement explained... well... nothing. Wasn't Souta her brother?

  
  


"It's not serious or anything," Kagome laughed a little, but it sounded strained. "I mean, they're only nine years old. Well, I think she's ten. But still."

  
  


Miroku was now throughly confused. "Your family doesn't approve of the girl?" he ventured.

  
  


Kagome waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, she's fine. A little bossy, but Souta doesn't seem to mind, and Mom has this thing about letting things run their course. And did you know Ayumi has a boyfriend?"

  
  


Miroku opened his mouth, could think of nothing to say, and so just quietly shook his head.

  
  


Kagome didn't even seem to notice. "Ayumi of all people! She always said that boys would get in the way of her studying, but apparently it only takes one math tutor with amazing eyes to change her philosophy. I mean, so much for self-discipline." She glared at Miroku.

  
  


"Um... self-discipline is a good thing?" he tried.

  
  


"Oh sure. For the lonely, miserable and depressed, as it turns out. I'm away for a few weeks, and suddenly it's boys, boys, boys! And Souta won't wear a ball cap anymore. Girlfriend's orders. Urgh," she dropped her face into her hands again. "I hate spring," she moaned. 

  
  


Miroku decided it was time to take control of the conversation. "Kagome." He waited until she looked up at him. "I'm not sure what Souta and your friend have to do with what's bothering you. If you could clarify..." he trailed off uncertainly. Kagome's face was turning an interesting shade of red, her eyes getting impossibly huge. 

  
  


"I've never kissed a boy!" she blurted out suddenly. "And now even Ayumi has, and when I go home it's all, 'Oh does he do that twisty little thing with his tongue?' or 'Don't you love it when they make that rumbling sound in their chest?' or 'Under the clothes yet, or just over?'. Even Souta is getting some - well a nine year old's version of 'some' anyway - and I'm just this pathetic loser who's trudging around in the Feudal Era, with cute boys who promise me all sorts of stuff, but. Never. Follow. Through!"

  
  


Miroku blinked, and Kagome covered her mouth, staring at him in shock

  
  


"I... I can't believe I said all that out loud!" she whispered through her fingers.

  
  


Frankly, Miroku was in a stage of disbelief as well. Whatever problem he thought she had, this particular one had never occurred to him. With his mind racing he did the only thing he could do: fall back on his training.

  
  


"I understand completely, Kagome," he said with a calmness that was not entirely genuine. 

  
  


"You do?" she squeaked.

  
  


"Of course. And I would be honored to tutor you in the finer arts of...," he smiled suggestively, finally back into familiar territory, "physical pleasure."

  
  


"Oh, would you?" Kagome said in delight.

  
  


Which was what his imagination heard. His way overactive imagination. So her real reply was going to come through any moment now. Any moment.

  
  


"Miroku, you are seriously the best friend a girl could have! Oh, you really do understand! This is such a relief." Kagome smiled at him and hopped to her feet.

  
  


Okay, so obviously he was hallucinating. He must have hit his head during this morning's battle. He ran his hand over the grass beside him. It felt remarkably real for a hallucination. Which he was having. Apparently that wasp demon had packed quite a wallop.

  
  


"I should get back before anyone misses me. How are we going to get enough time away from everyone I wonder? Do you have any ideas? Maybe we could say you're training me, which would be the truth actually." She giggled. "We'll work all that out later. I'm just glad we were able to work this part out. Oh Miroku, thank you!" And then she was running up and over the hill and Miroku was left with the grass and the swiftly gathering clouds and what had to be a very serious head injury. 

  
  



	2. Discussion

Yay! You all liked it! Yay! And um... feeling just a little bit of pressure. Dear God -- Don't let me screw this up. Some of them have swords!

And to Sairuh - would it make me a total dweeb if I wasn't really sure of the actual NAME of my favorite childhood rhyme? I know it has a girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead. Heh heh heh... sigh.

  
  
  
  


Chapter 2: In which a discussion occurs and our hero uses his various skills.

  
  
  
  


"Damn, Miroku, what the hell happened to you!" Inuyasha's exclamation snapped Miroku out of his daze. And had the added benefit of drawing everyone's attention to the damp monk.

  
  


"I... um..." Now they were really staring. Just what he was hoping for. 

  
  


"Inuyasha was about to go looking for you," said Sango, absently patting the purring Kirara. 

  
  


"Yeah, we thought maybe another praying mantis demon had gotten you," Shippou said with wide eyed innocence and a small smirk that ruined the whole effect. 

  
  


"Oh. No. I was just..." Miroku gestured vaguely with his staff. 

  
  


"Wandering around in the rain?" Inuyasha snorted derisively. "Wouldn't put it past you. Stupid monk. Well? Come in and dry off!"

  
  


Miroku meekly obeyed Inuyasha's command and settled down with the others. He was a little chilled from the weather, and grateful that the villagers had given them such a nice place to stay. It was the rain, actually, that had driven him from the hillside where Kagome had left him.

  
  


Kagome who was sitting quietly across from him and seemed too fascinated by her cup of tea to meet his eyes. Kagome who'd made a proposal Miroku still couldn't believe. Or, more accurately, accepted a proposal Miroku had never, in a million years, thought she'd take seriously.

  
  


"We were afraid that you'd forgotten your promise to Kagome. Isn't the training supposed to start tonight?" 

  
  


Miroku watched a faint blush creep across Kagome's cheeks before Sango's words registered. He almost broke his neck turning to gape at her.

  
  


"Unngh?" Oh, he was on a roll here. Sango looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Which, Miroku thought, he most probably had.

  
  


"Yes, Miroku," Kagome spoke up, saving him from finding out what other strange sounds he was capable of making. "You were so sweet to say you'd help me with my miko training. Is it okay if we start tonight? This house has a separate room where we can work undisturbed." She stared at him with wide eyes and blinked meaningfully. 

  
  


"Oh. Yes." Manfully, Miroku pulled himself together. "I apologize for making you wait, Kagome." He put on the most priestly air he could manage. "I was deep in meditation in preparation for today's lesson when the rains came. I am quite prepared." This was one of those moments when Miroku was glad he was such an accomplished liar. Standing gracefully, he held his arm out towards Kagome. "Shall we?"

  
  


"That must have been some meditation," Shippou said as Miroku and Kagome left the room. "I thought maybe some demon had sucked his brains out."

  
  


Miroku thought it best to ignore the snickering that followed that statement.

  
  


"Oy! Kagome! You let me know if the monk tries anything funny!," Inuyasha called out as Miroku and Kagome made their way across the covered walkway.

  
  


Kagome stifled a giggle and winked at Miroku as she slid the door open. The room that had been arranged for them was quite nice. There was a brazier in the center of the room, taking the wet chill out of the air. Candles flickered in the corners. No bedding had been set out, but all together it was a cozy setup. One he'd usually be quick to take advantage of. Except that this was Kagome. 

  
  


For all his hinting, and groping, and 'will-you-bare-my-child'-ing, Miroku did not have casual relations with any woman who did not fully understand how casual the relations were going to be. And Kagome was not the type of girl to have casual relations with anyone, let alone a monk with his own personal death curse in the palm of his hand. While he looked forward to entertaining a few fantasies about paths not taken once this was all cleared up, there was no way he could seriously consider Kagome's proposal. She could not possibly have meant what she said. Or implied. Or agreed to. Or - enough - it was time to face the matter at hand.

  
  


With a sigh, Miroku settled himself beside the brazier. "Listen, Kagome," he began as she sat down next to him, "what exactly are you wanting to have happen tonight?"

  
  


She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her hands folded demurely in her lap. A pretty pink blush spread across her cheeks before she looked back up at Miroku. "Well, I was thinking we could start with kissing," she said faintly. "Um. That's as far as I got really."

  
  


In Buddah's name, she looked so delectable at that moment; like a fresh peach, just waiting to be plucked. Miroku pushed down his libido. Contrary to the popular opinion he worked so hard to cultivate, he was not a slave to his passions. He needed to stick to the business at hand. Which was about NOT taking what appeared to be so willingly offered, he reminded himself. "But you want me to teach you how to have sex?"

  
  


Kagome looked at him in obvious shock. "No! I mean, not that far. Just," she gestured helplessly with her hands, "just boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. Things a sixteen year old girl should know by now."

  
  


What on earth should a sixteen year old girl know? What kind of courtship rituals were practiced in her era? Very briefly, Miroku considered a conversation with Inuyasha about that particular topic, then he remembered how much he liked his internal organs staying exactly where they were. "Kagome," Miroku gently took her hands between his own, "shouldn't you wait to learn these arts from someone you love? There is no time limit, and you are still so young."

  
  


"Yeah, like you're fifty." Kagome pulled her hands from his and stood up abruptly, her eyes hidden by her bangs. "And sixteen is ancient in this era. I should have like twenty grandkids by now." She sounded angry. "And if I hadn't been pulled through the well my first kiss would probably have been with Hojou of all people. He's certainly not someone I love."

  
  


Miroku was not sure what to say to this. It was true that girls her age were usually married by now, but there were circumstances where they weren't, and who the hell was Hojou?

  
  


"The fact is," Kagome looked up and Miroku was alarmed to see that she was crying, "the man I love is promised to another. Is in love with another if I'm being completely honest here. There's a powerful demon out to kill me, plus a whole lot of not so powerful demons who'd kill me just for kicks. I could die tomorrow and, damn it, I want to know what it feels like to be kissed!"

  
  


And it was strange how it stung him a little; the admission that he was second choice. It wasn't a secret that Kagome loved Inuyasha. From the beginning that had been abundantly clear. Gritting his teeth Miroku stood up. This wasn't about him and his stupid pride. "Kagome," he said gently, "I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. And that you're sure of who you're doing it with. This isn't an offer or a decision to be made lightly."

  
  


"I have thought about this, Miroku." Kagome smiled up at him. "And I've thought about who to ask. It was between you and Kouga. But I trust you more."

  
  


Kouga! The thought of Kagome making a similar offer to the leader of the wolf demons made Miroku shudder. Kouga considered Kagome his promised mate. If she told him she wanted to explore the physical side of their relationship he would have her with child by the end of the day.

  
  


Now Miroku was trapped in a dilemma. If he turned Kagome down, she very well might make an offer to Kouga. Miroku could not allow that to happen. But he also doubted that she really wanted her first sexual experiences be with a self-proclaimed pervert who might not be there for her when she needed him.

  
  


Kagome stared at him, glistening tears drying on her cheeks. She looked so trusting, so open, so damn innocent. And Miroku decided that he would give her what she asked. But only what she asked. He would not allow passion to overcome reason. As soon as she changed her mind, he would back away. 

  
  


Reaching out, he cupped her cheek with his ungloved hand, relishing the feel of her smooth skin against his palm. He used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears. "Well, I am flattered that I beat out Kouga," he said with a quick grin, pleased when she grinned back at him. Sliding his hand around to the back of her head, he carded his fingers through her thick black hair. Her head fell back with the strokes of his fingers, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, drawing her close. 

  
  


Supported by his arm and body, Kagome relaxed into him, her eyes fluttering closed, her mouth falling gently open. If there was a moment when he could no longer walk away, Miroku figured this was it. With a quick prayer to Buddah, hoping he'd made the right decision, he leaned down, covering her mouth with his own. He could feel her breath quicken, and her lips tremble under his. Softly, so softly, he brushed her mouth lightly with his, smiling when she began to reciprocate. 

  
  


Miroku always loved the first kiss. The opening of a door to a radiantly new, unsullied encounter. There was a certain sweetness to the promise it held; the unknown future it foretold; the magical hope that this time, everything would go right. And this was Kagome's first kiss ever! No matter how quickly she came to her senses and pushed him away, he would have the promise of this first kiss to remember forever. 

  
  


But she wasn't pushing him away. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself more tightly to his body. Miroku slowly increased the intensity of the kiss. Their mouths were open now, their breath mingling. Kagome was clinging to him, her small hands fisted in his robes. He nipped at her bottom lip lightly, then soothed it with his tongue. And then he felt the gentle flutter of her tongue against his, and the softness of her breasts crushed against his chest, and the curve of her hip as his hand slid down from the small of her back preparing to pull her pelvis hard against his, show her what she had awakened. And he could hear himself moaning.

  
  


Putting both hands on her shoulders, Miroku pushed Kagome away, his breathe loud in his ears. He cleared his throat. "And so ends lesson number one," he said, his voice unusually rough and deep.

  
  


Kagome's eyes slowly opened and after a moment she smiled up at him brilliantly. "Wow," she whispered. She pressed her fingers to her swollen lips. "Wow." With a slight giggle she sank down to the floor, never taking her eyes off his. "I, uh, don't think I quite got that last bit. Do you think we could go over it again?"

  
  


Miroku let out a surprised laugh as he sat down hurriedly. Adjusting his robes to hide the interest of one of the less reasonable parts of his body, he stared at Kagome with wide eyes. "This was supposed to be the part where you run from the room."

  
  


"Screaming for Inuyasha?"

  
  


"Well, no. I thought it'd be best to avoid his involvement. But a general, 'I didn't mean it, forget everything I said, let's just pretend this never happened,' sort of statement was supposed to be made."

  
  


Kagome giggled again. "I'm not as fickle as that, Miroku."

  
  


"I wasn't suggesting -,"

  
  


"And I'm not a coward. You'll have to do a lot more than that to scare me away." An almost wicked grin slid across Kagome's face. "In fact," she purred, "I'd really like to see you try. To scare me away I mean."

  
  


Miroku stared at Kagome. Did she just challenge him? Did she just PURR? He closed his mouth. She sat there, a self-satisfied smirk on her prettily flushed face, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated, her chest rising and falling with each quick breath. He was a reasonable man. But he was also very good at what he did. 

  
  


So he showed her what a truly wicked grin really was, and as her smirk disappeared into a look of tentative anticipation he reached out for her. "We've only just begun Kagome," he whispered into her ear. "Don't get cocky."


	3. Dirty

"And God said, 'Let there be smut,' and there was smut..." A little smut anyway. A tasteful R rated amount.

  
  


We had trick-or-treaters this evening. Otherwise I would have uploaded earlier. But on the good side - I have the cutest little kiddies locked in my basement now. What? They were cute! You'd have kept them too!

  
  


Sairuh - I know the rhyme as follows: "There once was a girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead. And when she was good, she was very, very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid!"

  
  


Dear God - Please let everyone enjoy this chapter. They're starting to get creative. Whips and handcuffs were mentioned. Which, as you know, kind of turned me on. But I don't think it was meant in a fun way. And bunnies, God. Hot pink, fuzzy bunnies! ::shudder::

  
  
  
  


Chapter Three: In which our hero talks a lot and things get dirty.

  
  
  
  


Kagome was pressed up against the wide rough bark of the tree, her face flushed, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.

  
  


"Keep them closed, Kagome," Miroku murmured into her ear, pausing to nuzzle at her neck. "Concentrate on what you're feeling. The roughness of the tree," he sucked on her earlobe, "the heat of my body," tongued the delicate shell of her ear, "the coolness of the air." He ran the tips of his fingers gently across her stomach and she gasped and shuddered. He skimmed the waistline of her skirt, pressed his hand down, firm and low, and her gasp turned into a low whine of need.

  
  


Miroku's body flared with desire at that sound, and he twisted his hips slightly to keep himself from touching Kagome with the evidence of that desire. This was for her and for her only. And damn but that had made the past few weeks hard. Pun definitely intended.

  
  


He braced himself better on the tree and slowly ran his free hand down her thigh while he kissed his way across her face, avoiding her eagerly parted lips. "Feel me touching you," he whispered between kisses. He traced her knee with his fingers. "Feel how you respond to my touch."

  
  


Kagome made a little pouting sound when again he avoided her mouth and he chuckled. "Feel where I'm not touching you. Where you want me to touch you." His hand slid its way up the inside of her thigh and he nearly lost himself in the firm silky texture of her skin. "Do you feel that Kagome?" he asked, his voice almost a groan.

  
  


She turned her head quickly, trying to capture his lips with her own. Miroku was a veteran at this game though and he easily evaded her. "Tell me what you feel, Kagome." He let his hand drift up and down her inner thigh.

  
  


"Mmmm... I feel...," 

  
  


Her leg fell further open. He kissed his way down her neck.

  
  


"I feel...,"

  
  


He kissed and licked his way down her collarbone. 

  
  


Kagome's eyes flew open. "Shards!"

  
  


Miroku pulled back so fast he almost tripped over his own feet and fell on his ass. Not very warrior-monk like behavior. He covered by crouching down to pick up his staff. "How close? I don't sense any demons." His voice was crisp now as he readied himself for possible battle.

  
  


Kagome stepped away from the tree, straightening her clothes absent mindedly as she quested the air. "Oh," she said and tension flowed out of her body. "It's purified shards and maybe one that's not. I think it's 'all hail the conquering heros' time."

  
  


"They're back?" The annoyed sound in his voice surprised Miroku. This was his life long quest after all. Complete the jewel, kill the bad guy, stride off into the sunset. Picking up the odd girl or six along the way was just a perk, and never to distract from his mission. Then another thought hit him. "How soon will they be here?"

  
  


Kagome stared out at something only she could see. "They're not moving too fast. End of the day maybe?" She'd been the clever girl who'd come up with the idea of entrusting the rest of the group with the shards to serve as an early warning of their return. Miroku was strangely proud of her deviousness.

  
  


"We need to get you back to Lady Kaede's then. And you need to get a quick bath. And change your clothes. You brought a change of clothes right? And maybe clean what you're wearing. Or burn it. Do you think that would look suspicious? Because you could always -,"

  
  


Kagome laughed, looking a little exasperated. "You're being paranoid, Miroku. He's not going to notice."

  
  


"Believe me, Kagome. If it's about you, he notices."

  
  


Kagome nodded her head a little as she started towards the village, but any idiot could tell it was her 'If I agree maybe he'll shut-up' nod, not the 'Oh, you're so right!' nod he was going for. 

  
  


"I just hope that when he goes for me, and he will," Miroku fell into step behind Kagome, easily keeping up with her hobbling pace, "he gives me enough time to explain the situation."

  
  


"The situation?"

  
  


"That I'm teaching you things he'll get to appreciate in the end." And why was he having to fight to keep a note of bitterness out of his voice? "I'm not trying to take you away from him. You're still madly in love with him." Kagome's back stiffened noticeably, but he stubbornly kept babbling on. "I'm optimistic enough to hope for a minor maiming rather than all out gruesome death."

  
  


Kagome stopped suddenly and spun around to face him, her face a thundercloud. Miroku scratched the back of his head and did his best, 'I'm too silly to take seriously' grin, to which Kagome was supposed to shake her head, smile affectionately and continue on her way. Instead she kept glaring at him. And she was thinking. He could tell by the way she chewed her bottom lip. Which was supposed to be his job now.

  
  


He stepped forward, intent on showing her how good he was at his job, when her face suddenly cleared and she folded her arms and lifted her chin. "I know you're a guy."

  
  


"Um... yes I am." Miroku stopped in his tracks, wondering where she was going with this. Because he'd only dressed up in women's clothing that one time and he'd had a bit much to drink, and the woman had been very persuasive, and over all it had been one of the stranger episodes in his life. Not entirely unenjoyable, but nothing he was eager to repeat.

  
  


"I know you have a...," Kagome blushed but did not drop her forthright gaze, "a penis." 

  
  


For a wild second Miroku pictured himself pulling a severed penis out of his robes, cackling like a madman and screaming, "But you can't have it!". Instead he went with the less insane, "Huh?".

  
  


Kagome raised an eyebrow. "All the twisting and turning you do, making sure I don't feel it? Those little nature walks by yourself when we're through with one of our 'sessions'?"

  
  


Miroku could feel a flush creeping over his face. "I - I didn't want to scare you." Which sounded really stupid when it was said out loud like that. By her expression, Kagome agreed.

  
  


"Kagome, we established that you had no experience. And we established that you only want to gain a limited amount of experience. I've been trying to abide by our agreement." Miroku stepped closer to her. "Do you know how much discipline it's taken to keep myself in check?" His voice deepened and thickened. "How hard it is for me to stop? What I dream of doing to you? Showing you?"

  
  


Kagome got an odd look on her face. "Can you show me now?"

  
  


Shock. Opened mouth shock. "Now?" he squeaked. But in a really manly way. 

  
  


She nodded in the general direction of his crotch. "I want to see it," she whispered.

  
  


Oh. Oh! The 'it' in question flared to life, all for an unveiling. 

  
  


"Right here and now?"

  
  


Kagome grinned evilly. She was getting really good at that. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said in a sing-song voice.

  
  


And really, who in their right mind could refuse an offer like that? So Miroku started gathering up his robes grinning right back at Kagome, and then her face fell.

  
  


"Darn it!"

  
  


"Please tell me there's a demon coming that I get to kill." Because right now, Miroku could really kill something.

  
  


"No. They've picked up their pace. They'll be here in less than an hour." Kagome looked as frustrated as he felt. Which was slightly mollifying, but still didn't make up for the interruption to this interesting new path he and Kagome were about to explore.

  
  


"Well. Isn't that good news." Miroku swept Kagome up into his arms and headed briskly towards the village.

  
  


"Miroku!" Kagome protested. "My ankle is a lot better. I can walk on my own you know." But she snuggled into his chest as she said it, so he didn't take her too seriously.

  
  


"Your welfare is my responsibility. I'm the one who's supposed to make sure you don't push yourself and cause yourself greater injury." He'd been very quick to volunteer for that job. Sango had seemed resigned to it since Kirara was the best way to get Kagome back to Lady Kaede's, but it hadn't taken much to persuade her that her skills would be a greater asset for bringing down the shard-enhanced demon they'd been chasing.

  
  


Miroku began worrying that he'd been a little too eager to leave the fray and nip off with the damsel in distress, but than Kagome took advantage of her position to start nibbling at his ear, playing with his earrings with her tongue. So he concluded that it was in the best interest of the group to keep everyone in full health and his was an important task that he should be proud to fulfill.

  
  


"Kagome! Have you hurt yourself again?" Shippou's shriek could have woken the dead. In the northern lands. But as he came flying up the path he did look genuinely worried so Miroku forgave him for stealing Kagome's attention from his ear. 

  
  


"Hey Shippou." Kagome slid out of Miroku's arms, and if his hands did a bit of exploring on her way down, well he did have a reputation to uphold. "I'm fine. Miroku was just being overprotective." She turned to frown at Miroku, but he could see the grin playing around the corners of her mouth. "I think Inuyasha and Sango are going to be here soon."

  
  


"That's what I was coming to tell you!" Shippou leapt into Kagome's arms. "Kirara left to go get them. They should be here any minute!"

  
  


Kagome giggled and snuggled Shippou. "Well let's go get a welcome home feast ready for them. They'll probably be hungry."

  
  


"I'm hungry too!" Shippou said.

  
  


Resting his hand on Kagome's shoulder Miroku leaned down to peer worriedly at the little fox demon. "Oh no, Kagome. I think Shippou's going to waste away to nothing. We better get some food in him immediately!"

  
  


Shippou jumped from Kagome's arms and clung energetically to Miroku's shoulder. "Yeah, Kagome! You don't want me to starve to death!" he agreed at full volume.

  
  


"Oh and you're in so much danger of that, Shippou!" Kagome giggled up at him.

  
  


But he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. "Miroku? Why's your ear wet?"

  
  


Kagome became so involved in stifling her laughter it looked like it was taking all of her attention just to breathe. So Miroku was left to come up with a long winded explanation that involved dew, tree leaves, and some strange insect behavior. Fortunately, Shippou lost interest as they headed down the path, and he was saved from trying to tie it all together.

  
  


The three of them arrived at Lady Kaede's just as Kirara touched down from the sky, a tired and grungy looking Sango on her back. "I need a bath," she said dispiritedly as she climbed down with little of her usual grace. "Now."

  
  


She did look filthier than usual for post-battle Miroku noticed. "What happened?" he asked, his guilt returning in full flood. He should have never let her and Inuyasha go on alone.

  
  


"Oh, it died easily enough," Sango dropped her weapons by the porch. "It was getting the shard that was hard. It was in the thing's gizzard. So now I'm covered in its guts and there's guts in my hair and all I can smell is guts, and I really, really need a bath." She sounded almost tearful by the end of her statement.

  
  


"You go on ahead, Sango," Kagome said gently. "I'll bring clean clothes and bathing supplies. I could use a bath too." She cut a quick glance at Miroku as she hobbled quickly into the house and he winked at her.

  
  


"Kagome," Sango said earnestly, "you are the best friend I have ever had."

  
  


Inuyasha arrived pretty quickly after the girls had headed off for their bath. He was much cleaner than Sango and his hair was wet.

  
  


"Yeah, I stopped at the first creek we came too," he said when Miroku asked. "But that's when Kirara arrived and Sango decided she wanted a real bath." He shook his head disgustedly. Though whether it was because Sango wasn't eager to bathe in cold water or because he had been covered in demon guts, Miroku couldn't tell.

  
  


Inuyasha took the stew Lady Kaede offered him gratefully. "I tell you guys," he said between bites, "that was a real son of a bitch." He swallowed noisily. "I thought the jewel shards made all the creatures they enhanced extra aggressive. But this thing just ran and ran and ran. And mostly in circles. Huge damn circles."

  
  


"Well," Miroku said. "It was a big chicken."

  
  


"I'd never even heard of chicken demons!" Shippou piped up.

  
  


"'Cause there's no such thing, runt," Inuyasha said dismissively. "This was just a regular chicken that pecked up a shard instead of a stone." He gulped down the last bite in his bowl. "Where the hell is Kagome hiding anyway? She needs to purify this shard."

  
  


"She and Sango are bathing, Inuyasha," Lady Kaede said as she served him up more stew.

  
  


"She's not here?" Inuyasha looked puzzled. "Damn. Being covered in chicken guts must have knocked off my sense of smell. I could have sworn she was close by."

  
  


Miroku stared innocently up at the thatched ceiling. And ignored the pointed look Lady Kaede threw at him. Sometimes the aged priestess was more observant than she needed to be. Fortunately, Kagome and a much happier and cleaner looking Sango arrived pretty quickly.

  
  


"Kagome! Are you sure you should be walking?" Inuyasha turned to glare at Miroku and Lady Kaede. "Why are you guys letting her walk?"

  
  


"It's okay, Inuyasha," Kagome reassured him. "It was just a minor sprain. In a day or two no one will be able to tell I fell at all."

  
  


"Ah, but the legend of your fall will live on," Miroku couldn't help saying.

  
  


"The epic battle between girl and root?" Kagome suggested with a grin.

  
  


And Miroku decided to play. "The young priestess and the tree that would defeat her," he said solemnly.

  
  


"All started by a cowardly sneak attack from below." She matched his serious tone.

  
  


"The horrible fear that the villainous tree had struck a fatal blow."

  
  


"Yeah, but I showed that mean old tree," Kagome said fiercely.

  
  


"It wasn't just the tree you showed. I've always enjoyed your choice in undergarments."

  
  


"Careful, monk," Inuyasha growled.

  
  


"Hey! It took years of training to get that graceful," Kagome exclaimed, ignoring the interruption.

  
  


"It is true. The dexterity of your tumble was awesome to behold." Miroku was definitely winning in the straight face department. Kagome was barely holding it together.

  
  


"You two," Sango said, "are crazy."

  
  


Kagome collapsed in peals of laughter and it took everything Miroku had not to join her. But a glance at Inuyasha showed the half-demon staring at them both with a perplexed frown. Miroku sighed, his urge to laugh dying quickly away. It would not do to arouse Inuyasha's curiosity. He was going to have to stay away from Kagome for the next little while.

It surprised Miroku how distasteful that prospect was. The past couple of days must have spoiled him. There was one cheering thought, however. The next time they were alone there was a pretty good chance Miroku was going to see Kagome naked. Picturing that certain to be pleasant occurrence would get him through the upcoming days. And that would have to be enough.


	4. Desperate

Sorry this update took so long folks. I swear it's not my fault. I was all, "So there's this cave, and its got a big feather bed, and a mirror on the ceiling, and Barry White is singing..." And they were all, "Doesn't it seem contrived?" And I thought Miroku would be all over Barry White (not to mention the feather bed) but nasty words got thrown around and the phrase 'deus ex machina' was used. Which was quite uncalled for, in my opinion. So I sulked, and typed extra slow.

  
  


But on the good side: there is a bit of a lemon/lime twist thing going on. (Honestly, I still haven't figured out the difference between lemons and limes. In fanfic I mean.) 'Cause you could write a tame Miroku/Kagome story, but - Why?

  
  


And for those who've been enthralled by the "Childhood Rhyme Saga": Apparently it's an actual poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This knowledge was provided by the incomparable Sandra E. (genius).

There was a little girl, / Who had a little curl, / Right in the middle of her forehead. / When she was good, / She was very good indeed, / But when she was bad she was horrid.

  
  


Plus, I want to thank everyone who's reviewed. It really means a lot to me that you all are enjoying my story. And it keeps me coming back to the keyboard. (That, and the threats of creative torture - you crazy peoples you!)

  
  


And FYI: The next update probably won't occur until after Thanksgiving. Family coming in, etc., etc. And I think I'll be busy breeding. And running away from bunnies. (Is it just me or is there a weird connection there?)

  
  
  
  


Chapter Four: In which our hero gets desperate and an unexpected confrontation occurs.

  
  


It was his fault. He'd been cocky; arrogant even. Everything had been planned out so perfectly in his head. Certain bliss was only a few hours manipulating away. He should have known better. The universe loved to punish just this type of thinking. But eleven days? Did he really deserve eleven days of this torture?

  
  


Eleven days during which Kagome was never, ever alone. Eleven days with Miroku staring at her over campfires, watching her sleep, walking behind her to get a cheap thrill when a stray wind blew. She tried to find time for the two of them to be alone. Miroku knew that. Hell, after the first few days of dancing around Inuyasha, fearful he'd suspect something, Miroku started coming up with excuses himself. 

  
  


But something always came up. An injured innocent would stumble into their midst. The demon they were hunting would suddenly appear. The area would be judged too dangerous for them to venture beyond earshot. That had been a particularly memorable occasion. Miroku had been forced to ramble on about the spirit world and how to harness its powers for over an hour. Even his not small ability for endless rambling had been stretched. 

  
  


It had gotten so bad, Miroku was thinking of faking a serious injury. And he'd gotten irritable. He snapped at Inuyasha, was short with Sango. Only Shippou escaped his hostility, and that was because he was a child and Miroku had yet to stoop so low. So, when they were setting up a new campsite and Kagome volunteered for firewood collection, Miroku jumped at the opportunity like the desperate man he was. Never had anyone, in the history of the world, been so eager to collect firewood.

  
  


He followed her as they wandered from the campsite, waiting for something to go wrong. Inuyasha was going to call them back. They were going to stumble into a group of bandits. Sesshomaru was going to show up and spend hours enumerating the ways in which humans were inferior to demons.

  
  


Instead, the trees grew thicker, the shadows deeper, the shaded air cooler, and the only sounds were those of birds and small forest creatures busy with their own activities. Then Kagome stopped and propped her bow and arrows against a large craggy boulder. "Finally," she started to say. But he had her pressed up against the rock and was ravishing her mouth before she could say another word.

  
  


"Too," he panted when he came up for air, "long." He bit and sucked at her neck. "Too, damn, long."

  
  


Kagome said something that sounded like agreement, but truthfully he wasn't paying attention. His hands roamed over her body and he feverishly pushed himself against her stomach before he thought to pick her up. She locked her legs around his waist, and he ground into her, ignoring the almost painful friction caused by his clothing. Part of him was horrified by his lack of control, but the rest of him beat that part into submission and continued on with what he was doing. And then Kagome was pushing at him, pushing him away. 

  
  


"Wait," she gasped. "Wait."

  
  


But he didn't want to wait. He wanted to have her right here, right now. So he kissed her, deep and hard, and slipped his hand under her skirt.

  
  


She pulled her mouth from his. "Please, Miroku. Please wait."

  
  


He stopped. His fingers tangled in her clothing, his forehead resting against hers. He was panting and throbbing and frustrated and suddenly sure that if he was Inuyasha, she'd be begging him to fill her.

  
  


And then his reason finally caught up with his passion. With a muttered curse, he sprang back away from her and she yelped as she fell to the ground. "Kagome," he said hoarsely, "I'm sorry. I don't...." 'I don't know what came over me,' was what he was going to say, but he knew exactly what had come over him. And he knew that he'd probably do it again under similar circumstances.

  
  


"I'm sorry," he said again, because that was all he could say. "I... I'll go."

  
  


"Miroku, wait." Kagome pushed herself to her feet, wincing as she did so, and he was flailed with guilt.

  
  


"I hurt you!" He was going to turn himself over to Inuyasha. The half-demon would be sure to come up with an appropriate punishment.

  
  


"Yeah, a little," Kagome said with a pout. "That boulder isn't exactly smooth you know."

  
  


Miroku looked more closely at the rock he'd been pushing Kagome up against. It was cratered and barbed and pock marked with age. Nothing anyone would lean against by choice. He hadn't even noticed, or more accurately, cared. It shocked him how quickly and easily he'd completely lost all self-control. 

  
  


"Kagome, I offer you my most sincere apologies, and if you wish to end our arrangement, I will understand." He'd probably have to spend a week in a large village with plenty of strong drink and morally open-minded women to get her out of his system, but he'd understand.

  
  


"Boy, you really know how to turn on the drama. It's just a few bruises." Kagome gingerly dusted off her bottom and grinned at him. "I'm not letting you go that easily." 

  
  


Miroku smiled wanly back at her. She didn't know how close he'd been to not stopping, to just taking what he wanted. And, coward that he was, he didn't want her to know. He knew he should tell her. He should end their strange relationship immediately. But he was weak. And apparently addicted.

  
  


"- gone for a full week. So Inuyasha's been trying to distract me. Like it's that easy to fool me. Plus, he's not really strong in the sneaky department." Kagome giggled up at him. "That's your speciality."

  
  


"You are quite gifted at being sneaky too," Miroku said while trying to figure out what she'd been saying. "You'll be gone for a week?"

  
  


"Yeah. Finals." Kagome made a face. "And you know, I think I might actually prefer the blood-thirsty demons, but -," she spread her hands out in a 'what can you do?' gesture.

  
  


"When do you have to leave?"

  
  


"Tomorrow." 

  
  


Oh yeah. The universe was laughing its ass off.

  
  


"But we're alone now." Kagome stepped closer to him and tangled her fingers in his robe. "And I was thinking... maybe we could have our own little private goodbye party." She looked up at him with large innocent eyes.

  
  


"Party?" Miroku cupped her cheek with his hand, running his thumb over her soft plump lips. He lowered his head. "I've got a party in mind," he murmured as his lips started to touch hers.

  
  


"Kagome? Where are you?" Sango's shout rang through the woods.

  
  


Miroku jerked his head up, and Kagome stared up at him ruefully. "I'm over here Sango," she called out.

  
  


Reluctantly, Miroku stepped away from her and headed back to the camp. He barely suppressed a glare as he passed Sango.

  
  


"What's wrong with him?" he heard Sango ask. So he must not have suppressed as well as he thought.

  
  


He was sitting at the campsite, glowering into the empty fire pit, when Sango and Kagome returned, each with an armload of firewood they piled by the pit. Sango took one look at him, rolled her eyes and settled (rather childishly he thought) away from him to begin building the fire. Shippou, who'd been strangely subdued with just Miroku and Inuyasha for company, scampered over to her side and began giving helpful advice.

  
  


Kagome, however, marched right over to where Inuyasha was sitting. She planted her feet and put her hands on her hips. Everyone waited breathlessly for the battle to begin. The half-demon didn't even look up.

  
  


"Inuyasha," Kagome said in a dangerously quiet tone.

  
  


"No."

  
  


The spectators gave a collective gasp.

  
  


Kagome's eyes blazed. "What did you just say?"

  
  


Inuyasha finally looked up, eyes equally fierce, and Miroku decided that he'd had enough. He sprang to his feet and strode over to Kagome. All eyes at the campsite were now fixed on him, and he didn't give a damn.

  
  


"As entertaining as this showdown is," he said as he grabbed Kagome by her upper arm, "we all know how it's going to end."

  
  


"What the hell do you think you're doing, monk?" Inuyasha's expression was a strange combination of rage and bewilderment, but Miroku found that he could care less.

  
  


"I'm cutting through the crap." He grabbed Kagome's bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Sango, I assume that Kagome may use Kirara to return to the well?"

  
  


"Oh!" Sango glanced at Inuyasha, but he was still staring at Miroku. "Yes. Of course." Before she'd even finished giving her permission, Kirara had morphed from cute little kitten demon into giant battle cat.

  
  


Miroku leapt onto Kirara's back, dragging Kagome up behind him. "Then I'll see you all in a couple of days." He could feel Kirara's muscles gathering and with a powerful spring she launched into the air.

  
  


He concentrated on hanging on as the demon sprinted steeply up through the trees, and then they were moving at an impossible speed, far above the forest. He thought he heard a distant shout from Inuyasha. He'd be paying for his actions when the half-demon caught up with him, but as Kagome tightened her arms around him, he decided it'd been worth it. And if he had allowed their little drama to play out in its usual fashion, Inuyasha would have ended up eating dirt. Miroku would have to remind him of that fact when the inevitable confrontation occurred.

  
  


Kagome pressed her body more tightly against his, and he could feel her shaking. Suddenly worried that he'd hurt her with his aggressive manhandling, Miroku started to twist around, but Kirara chose that moment to slow to a more sustainable loping pace, and he could hear Kagome laughing. Relieved, he settled into a more comfortable position, keeping Kagome's bag and his staff securely in front of him. His irritation finally slipped away and he found himself joining in Kagome's laughter.

  
  


When they finally arrived at Lady Kaede's, dusk had deepened into night, brightly lit by the moon hanging heavily above them. Lady Kaede met them at the door, clearly surprised to see them, and also clearly about to leave.

  
  


"Toshi has gone into labor," she said after they'd finished greeting one another. "This will be her first child. I shall be gone all night I expect." Lady Kaede looked grimly at Miroku as she said this, and he had to fight back a cheeky grin. It wouldn't do to provoke the woman, tempting as that thought might be.

  
  


"Kagome," she said, not taking her good eye off the young monk, "I seem to have left my bag of medicinal herbs inside. Will ye fetch it for me?"

  
  


Kagome went obediently into the house, her yellow bag on one shoulder. Kirara stretched sleepily and leapt to the roof of the house where she obviously planned on keeping watch in Inuyasha's absence. As soon as they were both gone, Miroku felt the full weight of the priestess' glare. In response he assumed his most bland countenance.

  
  


She gave a huff of annoyance. "Ye are playing a dangerous game, boy."

  
  


Miroku added mild confusion to his expression.

  
  


"Oh, aye. Ye have me fooled. As innocent as a new-born kitten ye are." Her words dripped with sarcasm.

  
  


With a grin, Miroku dropped his act. "I was innocent at one time."

  
  


"That I doubt." Lady Kaede stepped toward him and lowered her voice. "That girl you're playing with IS innocent." She shook her finger at him. "Ye will see to it that she stays innocent. Or ye will learn that there is power yet in this old body." She emphasized her words with a strong poke.

  
  


Exasperated, Miroku stepped out of her reach. "I am not playing with Kagome," he said in a fierce whisper. "Anything we do is done on her terms and at her bidding."

  
  


"A weak excuse. Passion can quickly sweep a young girl off her feet and down a path she did not mean to travel." Lady Kaede folded her arms and somehow managed from her lesser height to stare down at him. "Ye know this. Ye have taken advantage of this a time or two I would wager. Ye will not do so now."

  
  


"I don't -, I won't -, It's not -, Arrgh!" Miroku turned away from the priestess' piercing stare and clutched at his staff convulsively. "I have sworn to myself that I will not allow her to be hurt," he said quietly as he stared into the deep shadows of the encroaching forest. "I will do as I have vowed."

  
  


He could feel Lady Kaede staring at him, and the moment seemed to go on forever. "Good," she said finally. "I will not send Seki to act as chaperon."

  
  


Miroku stiffened, and had to struggle to keep an attitude of complete calm. Seki was a widow from the village with whom he'd had a certain understanding. And though he hadn't been to visit her for several months now, the thought of introducing her to Kagome was not a pleasant one. A quick glance at Lady Kaede confirmed that she knew exactly how awkward such a scenario would be. 

  
  


A hint of his distress must have shown because Lady Kaede's lips drew up into a tight smile. "We understand each other then." She turned toward the house. "Kagome? I have my bag right here, child." With a last glance at Miroku she headed out into the night.

  
  


Miroku watched her until she disappeared behind some trees. Who knew the old woman could be so evil? But he did mean what he'd told her. He was not going to hurt Kagome, so he had nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. And no, he was not trying to convince himself. Chuckling dryly, he removed his sandals and entered the house.

  
  


The room was ablaze with light. Anything that could be lit was lit. Kagome was searching in the corner where Lady Kaede kept her herb and plant collections, all in various stages of preparation. She looked up from where she was kneeling, a frown of frustration on her face. "I can't find her bag anywhere," she said to Miroku.

  
  


"Lady Kaede had it with her. She's already left."

  
  


Kagome blinked up at him. "Oh," she said, and just like that the atmosphere changed.

  
  


Miroku had been in Lady Kaede's house many times; sometimes injured, usually tired, often recovering from one battle and preparing for another. Plots against Naraku had been planned here. Discussions on what Naraku might be planning against them had gone on late into the night and often into early morning here. He had relaxed here, laughed here, and flirted here. He'd been here more than anywhere else, except for maybe Mushin's old shack. In many ways this place was his home. But this was the first time the comfortingly familiar cottage had felt so charged, practically crackling with life.

  
  


The full heat of summer had yet to bear down, but Miroku now felt impossibly hot. He could feel sweat trickling down his chest and he impulsively threw off his outer robes. Kagome gasped and he could see a look of panic in her eyes. She was rubbing her palms on the rough material of her skirt, and her leg muscles were twitching. Realizing that they'd never been this alone before and suddenly afraid she would bolt, Miroku stopped himself from stripping down to his waist, and instead kneeled down in front of her.

  
  


Taking her hands in his, he looked deeply into her eyes, willing her to see his sincerity. "We will only go as far as you wish, Kagome," he said. Then, remembering Lady Kaede's words, he added, "We will not have intercourse."

  
  


To his relief, Kagome laughed suddenly. "Thank you Mr. Spock," she said. Which made no sense at all. "And if you ever use the word 'intercourse' about us again I'll... I'll..." He could see her mind ticking, trying to come up with a suitable punishment. "I'll tickle you to death!" she shouted gleefully and then she pounced.

  
  


She was actually very good at the tickling, and Miroku writhed around desperately, trying to protect himself and get her into a vulnerable position. But she moved like water, flowing from one spot to another, somehow always managing be in the most advantageous place. Finally, breath almost gone, Miroku was forced to concede defeat.

  
  


"Yes!" Kagome rolled off of him and onto her knees, raising her arms in victory. "The one and only World Champion!" she crowed.

  
  


Miroku lay on his back, and smiled up at her. Her thick black hair had gotten tangled during their battle, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. "You are so beautiful," he said quietly.

  
  


Kagome started and stared down at him. "I... um... thank you. You're beautiful too."

  
  


Miroku grinned. "Thanks. Actually, what I am is hot. Do you mind?" He gestured towards his white kosode, and when Kagome nodded, he shimmed out of the top portion, leaving it to hang around his waist and returning to his supine position on the floor. Kagome gazed down at his bare chest, and the look in her eyes took his breath in a completely different way from the tickle fight.

  
  


She reached out tentatively and softly stroked his skin, running her hand over the planes of his stomach, tracing the outline of his pectoral muscles. Miroku concentrated on not groaning, clenching his fists to keep himself from reaching for her. Kagome scooted closer to him and brought her other hand into play. A frown of concentration settled on her face and she touched him more aggressively now, like she wanted to familiarize herself with every inch of his upper body.

  
  


She ran a finger down his side. "Where'd you get this scar?"

  
  


Miroku hoisted himself up on his elbows and looked down at where she was stroking him. "Boar demon."

  
  


"And this one?"

  
  


"Bandit."

  
  


"This one?"

  
  


"Ah yes. Fell out of a tree."

  
  


Kagome giggled quietly. "How old were you?"

  
  


"Six." Miroku sat further up.

  
  


"A little young to be climbing trees," Kagome said.

  
  


"Well, I was always precocious."

  
  


Kagome smiled a little. "I'll bet." She sank back to sit on her heels and licked her lips nervously. "You know, I'm... I'm a little hot too." She bit her lip, and Miroku wanted nothing more than to kiss her until she had no air left. But then she gripped the bottom of her blouse and with a look of total determination began to lift it up.

  
  


Miroku was not used to a woman's body being revealed in this manner. Usually the shoulders were bared first, and then the upper slopes of the breasts, and then the breasts themselves, and then the waist. Though usually he was concentrating on the breasts by then. But this way the first thing he saw was the curve of Kagome's waist, and the smoothness of her stomach as she stretched up, and he promised himself that he would kiss and nibble and tongue her bellybutton. And then he saw...

  
  


"Oh," he said, desperately searching for the right word. "Blue." 

  
  


Only blue wasn't right. It was blue, but also white and frothy and like sea foam on a perfect, wind tossed, summer day. And it was like this wonderful confection was made to frame the beauty of Kagome's breasts, and to hold them in the best possible position, and tease and torment him with brief glimpses of what was underneath. 

  
  


So this was a bra. He'd felt it before of course, through her clothing. But feel alone could not reveal the magic inherent in this clothing invention. Whoever came up with this was a genius of the highest order.

  
  


Kagome had removed her blouse and was watching him with a small smile. Miroku had the feeling that he was grinning like an idiot, but could not for the life of him, figure out how to stop. Or really why it was important that he stop. He reached out cautiously, terrified that she would change her mind. But she didn't, and so he traced the line of the bra along the slopes of her breasts, and then stoked the material itself, barely aware of Kagome's gasp as he did so. He was exploring the different textures; rough in some places, smooth in others. Which was not like bras he'd felt on her in the past. Which led to the happy conclusion that she had more than one of these things and there were probably different colors and maybe someday she'd show them all to him. Preferably by wearing them. One at a time of course.

  
  


But then he wanted to see what was so cleverly hidden, so he slipped the tiny little straps off of Kagome's shoulders. The bra didn't move. A frown formed on his face as he tried to push the rest of the bra down and it resisted his attempts. Kagome was giggling, which did interesting things to her breasts and quite frankly added to his frustration. Shifting closer to her, he pulled and tugged on various parts, but nothing seemed to be working. Kagome was out right laughing now. Okay, so whoever had invented this thing was obviously an EVIL genius. Dark magic had definitely been used.

  
  


Finally Kagome took pity on him. "There's a clasp in the back," she said with a wide smile.

  
  


With a grunt of acknowledgment for her directions, he leaned over her shoulder and examined the clasp back there. It was a small but complicated pair of hooks that needed to be pushed closer together in order to initiate their release. But Miroku was good with puzzles like these so he was able to unsnap the clasp fairly quickly. Sitting back he smiled at Kagome, pleased with his victory. Then she shrugged her shoulders and the bra slipped down her arms and he forgot how to breathe.

  
  


"Kagome," he whispered, "you're beautiful."

  
  


She fidgeted under his gaze. "You said that already."

  
  


"I need to say it more." Miroku reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing her against his chest, delighting in the feel of her skin against his. He traced his fingers down the smooth skin of her back, her hair providing inky contrast to its creamy paleness. And he murmured in her ear, "You're so beautiful, you're so beautiful, you're so beautiful," until she stopped him with a kiss.

  
  


When they broke for air they were lying on the floor, Miroku on top of her, pressed between her thighs and it would have been so easy for him to take her over the edge of this precipice, but he'd made a promise, to Lady Kaede, to Kagome, and to himself. So he pulled back and took her hand and let her feel what she did to him. And he showed her the pleasure of touch; what she could do for him, what he could do for her. And he learned that there were so many ways Kagome could say his name, and that he loved every single one of them.

  
  


Finally, they lay replete on the cottage floor, sweat drying in the gentle breeze, moonlight streaking across their skin. They'd garnered enough energy to pull out bedding and extinguish the lights. And now they lay together quite comfortably; Kagome's head pillowed on Miroku's shoulder, his fingers drifting absently up and down her arm.

  
  


"Do you want to know the weirdest thing?" Kagome asked quietly.

  
  


"What?"

  
  


"I still have my socks on." She ran her foot along his calf as demonstration and laughed tiredly.

  
  


Miroku chuckled. "Go to sleep my crazy girl," he said and kissed the top of her head.

  
  


Kagome snuggled more tightly into him and obediently fell off to sleep. Miroku, however, stayed up quite late, listening to her breathing, thumbing the prayer beads wrapped around his hand, and wondering if he knew what the hell he was doing.

  
  


Early the next morning he escorted her to the bone-eaters well and they stood there awkwardly, both of them tired and a little shy. Kagome idly swung her bag and Miroku spun his staff. Neither of them would meet the other's eyes and so they took turns sneaking surreptitious glances at each other. 

  
  


Miroku was feeling odd about the 'my girl' comment he'd made last night. It had slipped out so easily, but he knew he had no right to use those particular words together. Not about Kagome. His one consolation was that she'd probably been to close to sleep to really hear what he'd said.

  
  


He wasn't certain what was bothering Kagome, but he guessed that it had to do with how uninhibited she'd been the night before. It was one thing to fool around a little with someone. It was another thing entirely to allow them to see you clutched in the throes of passion, begging them not to stop. He smiled to himself a little at the memory. He'd always been very good with his hands. But this awkwardness was getting tiresome, and maybe he should remember that he was the experienced person here and start acting a little more maturely.

  
  


"I'll tell Lady Kaede you were sorry to have missed her," he said.

  
  


Kagome looked over at him. Finally. "I hope the birth is going all right," she said with only a slight blush.

  
  


"Oh, I'm sure it is," Miroku said reassuringly. It wasn't like she could change anything if it wasn't. "Sometimes it just takes a while."

  
  


"Yeah." Kagome looked back down and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I really, really do not want to go," she said quietly.

  
  


"These tests you talked about, they're important aren't they?"

  
  


"Oh yeah. Very important. Scarily important."

  
  


"Then you need to go."

  
  


Kagome sighed nosily. "I know, I know. Geesh. You're like my Mom." Then she blushed. "I mean, not like my Mom. NOTHING like my Mom. 'Cause, eww."

  
  


Miroku laughed and Kagome laughed with him and it was like there had never been a moments awkwardness between them. "I'll miss you," Miroku said, and Kagome looked pleased.

  
  


"Me too. I wish you could come with me. You would love the modern era. All those short skirts and pushup bras; your head would explode."

  
  


And Miroku wasn't quite sure why he'd love his head exploding, though pushup bras sounded promising. But then he was distracted by Kagome's smirk. "What?"

  
  


"I'm just trying to picture you in jeans. It's... a nice picture." Her eyes went a little distant and a dreamy smile settled on her face.

  
  


He had no idea what jeans were, but the idea seemed to please Kagome, so he went with it. "So while you're gone, you get to picture me in jeans and I'll get to picture you in -,"

  
  


"If you say underwear I'll totally loose respect for your creativity," Kagome interrupted.

  
  


" - in the silks of a princess," Miroku concluded sanctimoniously, as though that was what he going to say all along.

  
  


"Ooh. Good save." She did not seem to be buying the sanctimonious act. "So we both have our missions," Kagome added with mock seriousness.

  
  


"We'll meet here in one week to discuss our achievements," Miroku declared.

  
  


"Yes, sir!" Kagome did an odd stiff handed gesture, then sat on the well ledge and swung around so her feet dangled inside the well. "See you in a week! And if Inuyasha complains, just tell him... Oh, tell him whatever you want." She pushed off the ledge, was enveloped in a misty blue light, and just like that, she was gone.


	5. Dignity

And the next chapter is up! You should all be impressed with the speed, 'cause I'm totally mad-dog crazy and volunteered to do Thanksgiving at my house this year. My brand new house. In which I am still living out of boxes. I did mention I was crazy right? But I digress...

  
  


This should answer the "Why didn't he go through the well with her?" and "He's about to be ripped to shreds by a pissed off dog demon, right?" questions. I hope so anyway. No leather though. Sorry.

  
  


Thank you Grizabella for the citrus breakdown. This has just a tiny hint of lime. A piquant if you will. (And yes, I've watched way too much FoodNetwork. ::insert crazy grin here::) But no jeans. Sorry.

  
  


I can't believe strict Inu/Kag folks are reading this! Yay! I love you all! And you will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. But I mean it in a loving way. ::insert crazy grin here:: 

  
  


Chapter 5: In which predictable things occur and our hero clings to his dignity.

  
  


Miroku was still staring into the well when he heard the wind rush of Inuyasha's full speed arrival. He knew he should have moved. Gone back to the village. Or better yet, gotten the hell out of the village. Anything to give Inuyasha time to cool down. But he had been so tempted to jump in after Kagome, and so afraid that the well wouldn't work for him because the whole damn universe thought she and Inuyasha belonged together, and he really didn't want that particular theory to be confirmed, so he'd just stood there, staring down into the well. And now he was here and Inuyasha was here, and he was about to die because he was a stupid, indecisive, sap.

  
  


"You better try and defend yourself, Miroku, 'cause you're about to feel pain," Inuyasha snarled.

  
  


With a sigh, Miroku turned away from the well and readied his staff. "I don't suppose it would help any if I pointed out that she would have left anyway, and you would've become very familiar with the soil content of that forest?"

  
  


Inuyasha screamed out a wordless battle cry and charged.

  
  


"Didn't think so," Miroku muttered, and swung his staff up to meet the attack.

  
  


They slammed together and Miroku could feel Inuyasha's hot, angry breath on his face as he used his staff to block the dog-demon's fists. With a roar, Inuyasha ducked down and threw his shoulder into Miroku's stomach, tossing him back several yards. Flipping quickly to his feet, Miroku brought his staff back up and desperately sucked air into his suddenly deprived lungs. 

  
  


Inuyasha smiled grimly. "Humans are so damn weak."

  
  


"You sound like your brother," Miroku said with a fiercely cheerful grin as he regained his ability to breathe. "Found a role model?"

  
  


Inuyasha bellowed with rage and again Miroku readied himself. And this time he was damn well going to get a blow in; he'd show Inuyasha a weak human. But then a loud whirring sound filled the air, and suddenly there was a large pale object between the two men. Several small fires popped up around the object and Miroku stumbled backwards.

  
  


"Inuyasha, stop!" The cry rang out through the clearing and then Sango was there, grabbing up her bone boomerang and positioning herself protectively in front of Miroku.

  
  


Shippou scrambled off of her shoulder and leapt up onto Miroku's head, brandishing his toy top at the half demon. "Stay back Inuyasha! I don't want to have to hurt you!"

  
  


"This doesn't concern you two," Inuyasha said, and for once Miroku agreed with him.

  
  


"Of course it does," Sango said angrily. "We're all a part of the same team. We're supposed to all work together."

  
  


"Not where Kagome is concerned," Inuyasha retorted. "She belongs to me."

  
  


"She doesn't belong to anyone," Miroku said. And fuck the universe if it felt otherwise.

  
  


"Shut up, Miroku," Sango hissed. "Let me handle this."

  
  


"Yeah, Miroku. Hide behind the woman and the child and let them handle this," Inuyasha said with a taunting smile.

  
  


Miroku lunged at him, spilling Shippou off his head and forcing Sango to trip him up with her boomerang.

  
  


"Damn it! Would you two grow up!" Sango put a foot on Miroku's back to keep him down and pointed her finger at Inuyasha. "You. Go through the well. Talk to Kagome and get this straightened out." Miroku started to rise up in protest and she slammed him back down with her foot. "And you! Stay right where you are until Inuyasha is gone."

  
  


"Maybe I'll wait awhile before going," Inuyasha said. "It's starting to get entertaining."

  
  


"Go!" Sango sounded beyond exasperated.

  
  


"All right, all right. But this ain't over, Miroku."

  
  


Miroku decided to forgo any threats of his own. In his current position he had a feeling anything he said would sound ridiculous and he wanted to hang onto whatever dignity he had left. So he waited on the ground quietly until he felt the surge of power that told him the well had been used. Then he rolled out from under Sango's foot and climbed gracefully to his feet. He dusted off his robes and gathered up his staff as Sango and Shippou watched him silently. Without meeting their eyes he turned away from the well and started off towards the village.

  
  


"Where are you going?" Sango now sounded exhausted and a little defeated and Miroku knew he should feel guilty for leaving her alone all night with an angry Inuyasha, but Inuyasha was going after Kagome, probably having a happy little reunion with her at this very moment, so guilt was not among his current emotions.

  
  


"I'm sorry Sango, but that's really none of your business," he said. And without turning around, he walked into the forest.

  
  


Habit took him towards Lady Kaede's home, but the last thing he wanted was another little heart to heart with the old woman, full of knowing looks and I-told-you-so's. Instead he veered off towards the river, not stopping until he came to a little clearing that was usually deserted this time of year. There, he settled down for some quiet meditation. He needed to get himself under control. His emotions were raging through him in a chaotic torrent, and that needed to stop immediately. Before he killed someone.

  
  


After several fruitless minutes, he remembered why this area always became deserted as the summer months arrived. Every biting insect in creation lived here. And they were all starving for a little Miroku meat. With a few choice words for summer in general and this location in particular, Miroku climbed to his feet. And nearly took off Sango's head with his staff when she pushed her way through the bushes.

  
  


"Watch it!" Sango ducked away from his swing and glared at him. "Miroku, what is your problem!"

  
  


With a put upon sigh, Miroku walked past her and back towards the village. "I am sorry Sango, but -,"

  
  


"If you say it's none of my business I swear I'm going to remove one of your limbs." Sango fell into step beside him. "You've been in a foul mood for several days now and it's starting to effect us all. You and Inuyasha are at each other's throats; you can't tell friend from foe; and I caught you unawares without even trying!"

  
  


Miroku picked up his pace, but Sango matched him, stride for stride. "Something is bothering you and you seem unable to handle it on your own. So please," she skipped in front of him and put a hand on his chest, stopping him, "please, Miroku, let me help."

  
  


Miroku took a deep breath and looked down at Sango. She was looking at him with worry and compassion and, oh yeah, there was the guilt he should have felt earlier. Closing his eyes, he leaned wearily against his staff. "You're right, Sango," he said quietly. "I have not been myself." He opened his eyes and smiled gently down at her. "I appreciate your offer of assistance, but I CAN handle this on my own. In fact, I must handle this on my own."

  
  


"Are you sure I can't do something to help?" Sango moved closer to him, and Miroku really needed to be left alone and he realized there was one guaranteed way to both assuage her worries and achieve some privacy. 

  
  


"Well there is one way you can help," he said with an obscenely suggestive leer, and then he patted her bottom.

  
  


Sango stared up at him in shock and then she reared back and whacked him on the head with her boomerang. "Pervert!" she said with that perfect tone of moral outrage that was quintessentially her. With a glare she flounced off down the path. "I can't believe I offered to help that creep," she muttered as she left. But she WAS leaving and there was definite relief in her voice, and Miroku decided it was worth the hopefully minor head injury.

  
  


Several hours later, after finding a better spot to meditate, Miroku felt up to joining the others. He felt more balanced and calm and less like the universe was out to get him. It was also helpful to see the amount of gravel embedded in Inuyasha's face, obviously the result of several big 'sits'. Not that Inuyasha would acknowledge that any such thing had occurred.

  
  


He'd approached the group cautiously when he saw that the half-demon had returned. But Inuyasha had ignored him, concentrating on petting the purring Kirara curled up in his lap, and Miroku figured that Kagome had somehow smoothed things over while she'd had Inuyasha plastered to the ground.

  
  


Sango looked him over carefully, from a safe distance he was amused to note, and seemed content with what she saw. Shippou approached him almost as cautiously as Miroku had approached Inuyasha, which brought its own sting of guilt. But soon enough, Shippou was nestled up against Miroku, happily showing him his latest drawings about a clever little fox outwitting a bullying, but not too bright, white dog.

  
  


The days passed uneventfully, though he and Inuyasha avoided each other as much as possible. Miroku was not happy about that. Inuyasha was arrogant, domineering and sometimes pretty bad-tempered, but he was a good man in a battle, single-mindedly determined to destroy Naraku and amusingly gullible at times. Miroku had come to enjoy his companionship and found himself actually missing the half-demon. So it was a relief when one evening Inuyasha brought up some rumors of bandit activity to the west.

  
  


"Without Kagome we won't know if a shard is involved," Sango pointed out.

  
  


"Yeah, but it'd be good to kick some ass, eh Miroku?" Inuyasha grinned at him around his food, which wasn't the most pleasant of sights, but he'd actually spoken to Miroku and a good fight could be a perfect way to purge the tension between them.

  
  


"A righteous man is always grateful for an opportunity to stop wrong doing," Miroku answered piously. Then he lowered his voice. "Tell me, are these wealthy bandits?"

  
  


Inuyasha laughed. "Damn, monk! You are so predictable."

  
  


* * *

"That was too easy," Inuyasha groused as the group returned from victorious battle. "I didn't even have to draw Tetsusaiga." He kicked at a stone petulantly. "I thought you had to be tough to be a bandit."

  
  


"You have to be tough to be a good bandit," Miroku said from his place on the wagon seat. "By the paltriness of their treasure I don't think they were very good bandits." The wagon he was riding was only lightly loaded. It was barely worth the effort of finding someone willing to buy the goods; even the ox drawing the wagon looked like he was on his last legs. But Miroku didn't want to feel he'd completely wasted his time.

  
  


"Well that's one group of bandits that will no longer be terrorizing the countryside," Sango reminded them. "That's got to be worth something."

  
  


"I don't know if 'terrorizing' is the right word," Miroku mused. "Maybe 'pestering' the countryside. Or 'mildly annoying' the countryside." Inuyasha and Sango stared at him blankly, and he found himself really, really missing Kagome.

  
  


"Did you see how I scared them? Wasn't it great?" Shippou jumped up and down on the seat next to Miroku. "I was like, 'I will destroy you!', and they were like, 'aaaahhhh!'." Shippou climbed over Miroku as he reenacted the scene, waving his hands in the air and making faces. If he wasn't careful he was going to fall off the wagon and break his neck.

  
  


"That should have been our first clue," Inuyasha said. "If they were scared by one of your stupid tricks, they were obviously not worth our time."

  
  


"Hey! My tricks aren't stupid! You're stupid!" Shippou leapt from Miroku's shoulder onto Inuyasha and began gnawing on his head.

  
  


With a dark chuckle, Inuyasha grabbed the young fox demon by the tail and held him up at eye level. "Dumb move kid," he sneered as Shippou fruitlessly swung his tiny fists. "No Kagome here to protect you."

  
  


Shippou's eyes grew huge and he took in a deep breath. "Fox fire!" he screamed, and as a small fire popped in front of Inuyasha's face, he wriggled out of his grasp and scampered into the high grass growing along the roadside.

  
  


"Get back here runt! You nearly took my eye out!" Predictably, Inuyasha took off after him.

  
  


Miroku sighed. Without Kagome here to stop them this conflict could go on indefinitely. He was trying to decide if he should get involved when he suddenly sensed a malevolent presence approaching. Dropping the wagon reins, Miroku gripped his staff and looked around. A movement down by the river caught his attention and he stood up to better see what it was.

  
  


"Trouble?" Sango was already unharnessing her boomerang.

  
  


Miroku was finally able to make out what he'd been sensing. "I'm still trying to figure that out," he said quietly; then louder, "Inuyasha? You have company."

  
  


Inuyasha popped out from among the grass. "What the hell are you..." He looked where Miroku was pointing. The long silvery worms-like wraiths were almost lost in the sunlight glinting off the river, but they were unmistakable. "Kikyou," he breathed. And then he was off.

  
  


"What does she want?" Sango wondered.

  
  


"I'm not sure if she even knows," Miroku answered, then took his seat and flapped the reins of the cart, encouraging the ox to keep moving. There was no telling how long Inuyasha was going to be with his dead priestess, and he was afraid if the ox stopped he'd never get him going again.

  
  


They returned to the village without further incident, or sign of Inuyasha. As Miroku stored his spoils in an empty shed to await the arrival of the first passing merchant, he reassured himself that Inuyasha was more than capable of taking care of himself and that Kikyou did seem to care for him in her own strange psychotic way.

  
  


Suddenly a loud cry shattered his thoughts. "Kagome! You're back!"

  
  


Miroku sucked in a breath. Very carefully he put down the last item, making sure it was placed exactly right. He smoothed down his robes and walked with deliberate nonchalance out of the shed and into the sun.

  
  


Shippou was running at top speed, his bushy red tail flying behind him like a flag. The object of his excitement was walking down the hill towards the village waving enthusiastically at the young fox demon. Kagome was out of her usual uniform today and was instead wearing a short pale blue robe sort of thing that stopped halfway down her thighs. The neckline was low enough that Miroku knew he'd be encouraging her to lean over him for something as soon as he could think up a decent reason. And even better the robe was made of a material that clung deliciously to her body whenever the wind moved. 

  
  


Unfortunately, she was also wearing a type of pale green outer robe that just skimmed her hips and did not respond so readily to the elements. But the days had been getting warmer, and even with its short sleeves, surely Kagome would remove her outer robe at some point. Plus, she wasn't wearing socks, which brought to mind the time she was wearing only socks, and most importantly she was back, and soon he'd be able to touch her and smell her, and in the end it didn't really matter what the hell she was wearing. 

  
  


Miroku had to consciously restrain himself from grinning too widely. Which led his thoughts into a tangled maze of how wide was too wide, and, for that matter, how fast should he be walking? Because while an outright sprint like Shippou's would be bad, it wasn't like he was leading a funeral procession.

  
  


Miroku was suddenly struck by a horrible fear that he was walking with a strange hiccuping combination of a jog and a walk, and now he had no idea how to hold his staff without tripping over the damn thing. He'd just about made up his mind that it would be best to cling to dignity and wait for Kagome to come to him, when, finally, she was standing right in front of him. And she was grinning up at him, and he was grinning down at her, and it physically hurt to not crush her in his arms and rediscover what she tasted like.

  
  


Instead he contented himself with staring at her, while Shippou dug through her overstuffed bag, mumbling about candy, and Sango (when the hell had Sango arrived?) filled her in on the nothing-much-at-all that had happened while Kagome was gone. Fortunately, Sango did not mention the altercation at the well. And she somehow managed to make the fight with the bandits seem like a noble endeavor instead of a desperate way to fill the time.

  
  


"Inuyasha fought quite bravely," Sango concluded with a meaningful look at Kagome that Miroku thought completely unnecessary, and honestly he'd fought just as hard as Inuyasha, maybe even more so since Inuyasha had grown so disgusted by the obvious rout he'd gone to sulk in a tree while Miroku and Sango did cleanup, which, granted, mainly consisted of making sure the fleeing bandits weren't running in the direction of the nearest village, but could have been dangerous, because you never know with bandits.

  
  


"Where is Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, looking around curiously. 

Sango flushed and looked desperately at Miroku. "Oh! He's... uh... He's..."

  
  


"He's with Kikyou," Miroku said smoothly and Sango stared at him in shock.

  
  


"Oh." Kagome had an odd look on her face that Miroku was hard pressed to define. "I'm sure he'll be okay. I don't think she wants to hurt him. Not really."

  
  


Sango patted Kagome's shoulder while glaring at Miroku. "He was very reluctant to leave," she said soothingly. "He was so hopeful you'd be back today."

  
  


"He shouldn't have expected me until tomorrow," Kagome said with an air of righteousness. "I made it perfectly clear that for each day he pestered me to come back I'd make him wait a day." She grinned. "But then I couldn't wait to get back, myself!"

  
  


"Because you missed me?" Shippou pulled his head out of Kagome's bag and gazed up at her winsomely.

  
  


Kagome giggled and crouched down to give him a hug, and her neckline gapped as predicted and, ooh hey - pink. "Yes, Shippou, that's why I came back so quickly." She looked up at Miroku. "Because I missed you."

  
  


And now it was all he could do to not sweep Kagome into his arms and take off at a full run for the first secluded anything he could find. Somehow he maintained control. But, as the group started to meander their way back to Lady Kaede's and he fell in behind everyone, he was clutching his staff so hard his fist hurt.

  
  


As they settled into the cottage Kagome took a moment to pull Miroku aside. "So? Did you fulfill your task?" she whispered.

  
  


Miroku looked at her blankly, but when she frowned up at him he could not contain a smug grin. "I must confess, Kagome, that I did not picture you in a princess's robes."

  
  


"Ooh boy," Kagome looked at him warily, "I know I shouldn't ask, but..." 

  
  


Miroku leaned down until his lips were almost touching her ear, delighting in the little shudder she could not completely contain. "I pictured you on the floor over there, body stretched tight as a bow, your skin flushed and heated, as you panted and pleaded and cried out my name while I -,"

  
  


"Kagome, did you want some tea?"

  
  


Miroku stepped back as Kagome looked wide eyed at Sango. "Wha...?" she said, and then, gave herself a shake. "I mean, yes. Of course. I'd love some tea." With a glare at Miroku who returned it with a look of bland innocence, Kagome knelt gracefully beside Sango and accepted the proffered cup.

  
  


Miroku sank down where he was standing and arranged himself comfortably against the wall. Whenever he caught Kagome looking at him she would flush and glance away. So he felt the pride of a job well done and was pretty damn sure that the two of them would be alone together in the fairly immediate future, Buddah willing and if Kagome had her way. One thing was certain: in the entire time he'd known Kagome and Inuyasha, Kagome had never been so inflamed by the half-demon. Even the universe had to give him that.


	6. Dressup

Well, you all asked for it my darlings; I humbly deliver. Limey goodness to follow. (And by Limey I mean the citrus, not the slang for an Englishman. Just in case you were confused) Anyway- Merry Christmas!

  
  


Dear Quickening - you make me blush. I worship at the alter of Joss Whedon. I am still very much grieving over the passing of "Firefly" and eagerly await the movie and the crow those soulless bastards who canceled it will have to eat... but I digress. Seriously, comparing my little writing attempts to the Great One's dialog and wit - I'm speechless. (Okay, so not speechless, but really, really touched.) And I will admit that there's one spot in the last chapter where Miroku sort of channels Willow, that I probably should have cut, 'cause not similar creatures those two, but I was overcome by the funny.

  
  


Chapter 6: In which our hero wears some masks and a game of dress-up occurs.

  
  


Tea at Lady Kaede's had never been so fun. Miroku relaxed against the wall and watched the small group interact and did his best to convey peaceful placidity. What he really wanted to do was laugh evilly and tease Kagome some more. Just a few whispered words, a tiny little reminder of what he could do to her, and she was so beautifully flustered.

  
  


"How nice," she murmured in response to Sango's way too detailed description of the effects of various demon poisons on humans. Miroku barely avoided snorting tea. Both Sango and Lady Kaede stared at each other with matching nonplused expressions, and Kagome didn't even notice. She was too busy shifting and blushing and not looking at Miroku.

  
  


"Ah... well... it's nice that we have the masks now," Sango faltered.

  
  


"Mmm." Kagome swirled her teacup and stared into it like the secrets of the universe were hidden within its heated interior. She was chewing her bottom lip, and Miroku eagerly waited to see what she would do next.

  
  


"Herbs!" she suddenly blurted out, and Shippou fell out of her bag, fists and cheeks stuffed with candy.

  
  


She leapt to her feet, ignoring the shocked stares directed her way. "You must be running low," she said to Lady Kaede. "I've been gone so long and I'm sure you need..." Kagome tapered off and looked around distractedly. Then she looked up and grinned brightly. "I'll just go and get some with Miroku. Some herbs. Yes. Collecting herbs. May take a while." She wandered out the door, her grin growing stale, and a flush blooming across her face. 

  
  


Miroku rose smoothly to his feet, and with as little expression as possible, started out the door after Kagome. And was nearly knocked down by her when she rushed back in. "My bag," she said breathlessly. "I need my bag." She grabbed it up, and hooked her arm through Miroku's. "See you all later!" she chirped and dragged him outside.

  
  


Amused, Miroku let Kagome lead him at a brisk pace into the forest. Her hand had slipped down his arm, and now she gripped his hand in hers, apparently not noticing or maybe just not caring about the holy beads biting into her palm. She was muttering to herself as they went and he was pretty sure he was about to get a lecture. Which was okay with him. He was looking forward to interrupting it.

  
  


So it was a bit of a surprise when Kagome stopped suddenly, whirled around and pulled his head down to hers. She swept her tongue into his mouth with an urgency he was unused to being on the receiving end of. As she moaned and whimpered and pressed herself against him, Miroku wrapped his arms around her and decided that this was something he could definitely get used to.

  
  


Of course, at about that time, she pulled back and thumped him on his chest. "You are evil," she declared, glaring up at him.

  
  


"And irresistible," he added.

  
  


She hit him again. "See? Comments like that. And looking at me like that, with those - those - EYES!"

  
  


Miroku wasn't sure what he was supposed to look at her with if not his eyes so he just smiled at her.

  
  


"Gaahh!" Kagome grabbed his hand, spun on her heel and dragged him further into the forest. She seemed to have some idea of where she was going, and Miroku was quite content to let her have her way. So far her way had been very enjoyable.

  
  


"I know it's around here somewhere," Kagome muttered as she came to an uncertain stop, peering into the underbrush, then staring up at the tree tops. "Stupid trees with their stupid leaves," she complained, and dragged Miroku further along the faded, twisting path.

  
  


"If you tell me what you're looking for maybe I could help," Miroku offered. But Kagome wasn't listening.

  
  


"I was on the path," she said, letting her bag slip off her shoulder and dropping Miroku's hand to walk forward a ways on her own. "And I saw one of those white flower bush things right, over," she spun around slowly, "there!" She ran to a large bush. There weren't any flowers, but Miroku decided it best not to point out that fact. "And then there was the funny squirrel on that tree there," she shaded her eyes and peered at a tree to the left of the bush. "Which means it should be..." she stepped carefully through the tangled thickets, disappearing into the wild, verdant underbrush. "Right here!"

  
  


She popped out of the bushes, and gestured to Miroku. "Come on, hurry up! We're going to lose the sun." She looked like an incredibly cute woodland sprite. A woodland sprite on a mission. "And bring my bag." Then she disappeared again.

  
  


Miroku leaned on his staff and tried really hard not to laugh. She was so beautifully crazy. He got himself under control and scooped up her bag, which was a lot lighter than it looked for some strange reason. "Yes dear. Coming dear," he said in his best put-upon voice. Well, probably not his best. He couldn't keep his laughter from bubbling out.

  
  


Using his staff to hold branches out of the way, he pushed his way through the undergrowth and found himself standing in a small clearing. "Kagome?" he called. Sunlight streamed over the trees, lighting the clearing with the sweet softness of afternoon light. He could see a rocky outcropping on the other side of the clearing, but there was no sign of his crazy sprite. 

Crossing the clearing, he peered into the bordering trees. "Kagome?" Telling himself not to panic, he hadn't sensed any demons, heard any bandits, or felt anything with an evil impulse at all, he put his back to the low bluff, dropped her bag, and readied his staff. "Kagome?" Okay, so he was panicking.

  
  


Something grabbed his shoulder, and he spun around, his staff raised, only to find himself staring down at a laughing Kagome. "Your face," she gasped. "Oh my God, your face!"

  
  


"Crap, Kagome," Miroku was almost shaking with relief. "That was not funny."

  
  


"No," she shook her head as she laughed up at him. "Not funny at all. Very bad of me." Somehow her continuing hysterics made it hard for him to believe her sincerity.

  
  


Shaking his head he frowned down at her. "Because it's not like you've never been snatched away before."

  
  


"You're right." Kagome took some deep breaths and seemed to bring herself under control. "I shouldn't have scared you like that." Her mouth was twitching and she was trembling.

  
  


"I wasn't scared," Miroku protested. "I was worried."

  
  


"Of course." Kagome had a bit of a coughing fit and then shook her head and looked back up at him. "Anyway, let me show you the cave."

  
  


Seeing Kagome disappear into the rock face, Miroku realized that what he'd taken for a shadowed fold in the rock was actually a cave entrance. Ducking through the low opening, he stood still for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the dimness.

  
  


"I found it sometime last fall, then of course I completely forgot about it until right in the middle of my chemistry exam." Kagome shuddered beside him. "Do not ask me why. Isn't it perfect? "

  
  


It wasn't a very big cave. More of an alcove really. The ceiling was low enough that he had to stoop and it was not at all deep. But the dirt ground was fairly level, and the space bulbed out from the narrow opening giving it a feeling of privacy. There were no bones scattered around and that combined with the lack of smell led Miroku to conclude that no animal had made this place its den recently. Most importantly, there was space enough for two people to lie down comfortably without feeling cramped.

  
  


Miroku reached out and grabbed Kagome's hand. "It is perfect." 

  
  


She squeezed his hand. "I have something for you." Slipping out of the cave, Kagome knelt by her bag and as Miroku sat down beside her, she pulled out a largish package, wrapped in a black and weirdly shiny material. She held it out to Miroku. "I didn't take the time to wrap it properly," she said apologetically.

  
  


Taking it in both hands, Miroku marveled at the material. It was very thin, but felt strangely tough and elastic where he would have expected papery fragility. And it was smoother than anything he'd ever felt before. With his handling, the package unfolded into a large square sack. Turning it over he saw that an unfamiliar white icon had been stamped on one side. 

  
  


Kagome bounced up and down impatiently beside him. "Come on, Miroku, open it!"

  
  


Miroku grinned at Kagome and reached into the bag, pulling out its contents. Then he stared down at them, thoroughly confused.

  
  


"They're clothes. For guys in my era." Kagome took the bundle from Miroku. "See, this is a t-shirt. It's a top." She shook out a dark blue, almost black, cloth and Miroku could see that it was shaped in a vaguely familiar way. "This is what got me started. It totally screamed you. Note the Buddah?" She turned it and there was a simple drawing of the Amida Buddah, sitting placidly, one hand raised, palm out, the other resting on his knee, palm up, sketched in a dark purple ink that was almost lost in the background color. It was nice, but - 

  
  


"It's a little small."

  
  


Kagome shook her head in dismissal. "It stretches." She tugged on the material in demonstration, but Miroku still had doubts. He could see how it was supposed to be worn. But it seemed sized for a young boy. It would need to do a lot of stretching.

  
  


Unconcernedly, Kagome moved on to the next item. "And just to show you that I kept MY part of the bargain," she fixed him with a mock glare and unfolded the blue cloth. "Jeans."

  
  


So those were jeans. It was obvious how to wear them. Though again, Miroku was worried about the size. He was used to seeing a lot more material. And this time Kagome seemed to share his concern.

  
  


"I really hope these fit. I have a pretty good eye for sizes, but... well. We'll just have to see." She pulled the top of the jeans open. "Button-fly. 'Cause zipper's aren't for beginners. Poor Souta demonstrated that a few times." She put the jeans aside, and grabbed up the last item.

  
  


"Underwear," she said simply. "To wear under the jeans."

  
  


Miroku shook his head in amazement. He was a little overwhelmed. "You made all of this?" It must have taken her forever.

  
  


"Made..." Kagome stared at him blankly for a moment and then understanding dawned. "Oh, no." She laughed. "No, no, no. I just bought them. My friends and I went on a thank-God-our-exams-are-over shopping spree yesterday, and I saw the t-shirt, and then I went a little crazy, and long story short, my friends think I'm totally spoiling you."

  
  


"You told your friends about me?" Miroku felt oddly pleased.

  
  


Kagome flushed and looked down at the ground. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Was that okay?" She peeped up at him through her bangs.

  
  


"Yes! I mean, that was fine." Miroku found himself staring down at his hands. He was too pleased. He needed to remember that she was in love with Inuyasha. His hands clenched into fists, and he welcomed the pain of the beads bruising his left palm. They served as a reminder of his place in the universe; a reminder of the fact that he had less than nothing to offer someone like Kagome.

  
  


"So, did you want to try them on?"

  
  


Miroku looked back up at Kagome and her smile faltered.

  
  


"Miroku?"

  
  


He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Kagome," he said quietly. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. 

  
  


She smiled back at him, tentatively at first but with growing strength. "Okay. You try on the clothes, and I'll be in the cave, um... doing stuff." She climbed to her feet, scooping up her bag. "Just call out when you're ready. And remember, the little white tags go on the back." She reached down and gently stroked his cheek then disappeared into the cave.

  
  


Miroku stayed where he was for a few minutes, trying to get a grip on himself. The future didn't matter. He had Kagome now, and that was enough. He could almost make himself believe it. Letting out a large breath, Miroku stood up and methodically stripped off all of his clothing. The gentle breeze felt good on his bare skin, and he stood there for a moment, enjoying the sensation. But, as Kagome had pointed out earlier, the day was only so long, so he turned his attention to the gifts she'd brought him.

  
  


The thing Kagome called 'underwear' was strange. It was a very dark shade of gray and, like the shirt, seemed far too small for him. But the material was remarkably soft. Not even the most expensive silks he'd felt, and he'd felt some fine silks during his travels, could compare to this amazing texture. And when he pulled it on, he was astonished at its fit. It hugged his body, and clung to his upper thighs, but it moved with him so well he could imagine actually forgetting he was wearing it.

  
  


And the thing Miroku decided he really liked, though there was no way he would ever admit this to Kagome, was that it clung very nicely to certain parts of his anatomy. One could even argue that it drew attention to that area and perhaps even gave a favorable indication as to size. Not, of course, that he needed any help in that particular arena. Still... 

  
  


Casting a quick glance at the cave entrance, and deciding there were no peeping eyes, Miroku planted his fists on his hips, thrust his pelvis forward a bit, and put on his best bad-boy grin. "Ladies," he said quietly, "The Legendary Monk, Miroku, has arrived."

He held that pose for a few seconds then, laughing at his own idiocy, he reached for the jeans. Again, he was surprised by the texture, though they weren't nearly as soft as the underwear. And they didn't stretch. He had to kick off his sandals just to get his feet through the leggings. The fasteners weren't much fun either. The material was so stiff, it was an effort to get each fastener through its hole. When he was done, Miroku moved around experimentally. He imagined it would be just as comfortable to have tree bark wrapped around his legs.

  
  


"Kagome?" he called out.

  
  


"Yeah?" She sounded a little flustered, and he felt bad about bothering her with this, but-

  
  


"I don't think the jeans fit."

  
  


"Do they fasten?"

  
  


"Um. Yeah."

  
  


"Can you breathe?"

  
  


"Yes." And how was that not a stupid question? If he couldn't breathe wouldn't he be dead?

  
  


"If you squat, do they feel like they're going to explode?"

  
  


Miroku made a face, but dutifully dropped down into a low squat. And now he had to figure out what about-to-explode-jeans felt like. He bounced up and down a bit.

  
  


"Well?"

  
  


Kagome could use a few lessons on patience. "I don't know! Maybe?"

  
  


"Oh, you would definitely know. It's no fun squatting in too tight jeans." Kagome laughed a little. "They're just a little stiff. Move around a bit and break them in."

  
  


Miroku frowned. Why couldn't she just come out and look for herself? With a huge sigh he hoped she heard, he rose to his feet and walked around a bit. Still felt like tree bark. He picked up his staff and went through a few basic maneuvers. And he had to admit the jeans moved with him a little better than he'd expected them to. Returning to his starting position, Miroku started a simple drill he'd learned as a boy and slowly added to it, picking up speed until his staff was a spinning blur and he was moving through the clearing in an increasingly complex series of deadly moves. To his surprise, the jeans did not impede him as much as he'd feared they would. He still didn't have the freedom of movement his robes allowed, but at least he didn't feel like he was wearing tree bark anymore.

  
  


Coming to a halt, Miroku planted his staff and took a moment to bring his breathing back under control. There was a thin sheen of sweat on his skin, and tendrils of hair had come loose from their tidy cord to cling damply to his face. Reaching up, Miroku went ahead and freed the rest of his hair, though he knew with the breeze it would become an untidy mop in a matter of minutes. He'd worry about a neat appearance later. And speaking of appearances... 

  
  


Miroku eyed the cave entrance and then snuck a quick glance downward. Oh yeah. Not as obvious as the underwear, but still very much there. Of course he'd always done just fine in his shapeless monk's robes. Still, anything that enhanced his natural charms had to be a good thing.

  
  


So it was with a certain amount of swagger that he returned to the outcropping to cursorily wipe the sweat off his upper body with his outer robe and then turn his attention to the shirt Kagome had brought him. Its slippery texture was a little more familiar to him. But it still had a softness that he'd not experienced with the fabrics of his time. He didn't think it was made of silk. And it was certainly not linen. With a shrug he pulled it on over his head and was not incredibly surprised when it stretched out to fit him perfectly.

  
  


The Buddha, infinitely peaceful and placid, was centered on his chest, but the expanded purple ink faded even more into the deep blue of the shirt, making it a very subtle illustration. What wasn't so subtle was how well the shirt molded to his musculature. And with the way the jeans had settled to sit low on his hips the two pieces of fabric barely met. Any movement at all resulted in a flash of bare flesh. Did the men in Kagome's era seriously walk around like this? He hoped they all looked like Mushin.

  
  


It was with that less than appetizing picture searing its way into a permanent place in his mind that Kagome mercifully called out to him. "Are you ready Miroku?"

  
  


"I think so," he replied, tugging down on the hem of his shirt as he turned toward the cave entrance. "Should this shirt..." Miroku forgot how to speak.

  
  


Miroku considered himself to be a bit of a connoisseur when it came to women. He knew what beautiful was. He prided himself on being able to spot true beauty in the meanest peasant girl and false illusion in the most gorgeously attired princess. He'd always known Kagome was beautiful. Even with her strange wardrobe and the many times she'd been sweaty and dirty and exhausted, her beauty had shone through.

  
  


But now her beauty was completely unveiled, shining more brightly than the sun, and Miroku realized that he was spoiled for any other woman. He would always end up comparing them to Kagome, and they would always fall far short.

  
  


She was a vision in creamy white. Yellow butterflies and blue dragonflies danced around her feet and climbed up her front to weave their way around her neck. Her slender waist was encircled by a wide blue obi, the color of a pure mountain lake, shot through with thread of silver. And as she moved daintily towards him, Miroku was overcome with how graceful and small and perfect she was.

  
  


"I know it's not what a princess would wear," she said. "But since you were such a liar about that I refuse to feel bad."

  
  


"Kagome," he said quietly and she smiled up at him, and his heart broke. Because she was not his. Not really. And it was killing him, and if he was smart he'd end this entire arrangement before it went too far. But he was afraid that it had gone too far already, because he knew there was no way he could push her away. Not now. Not for a long time now, no matter the pain.

  
  


"And you can't say a word about my obi, because they're next to impossible to tie by yourself, so it's a bit sloppy, but you get the idea." Kagome chattered on blithely, and Miroku forced himself to grin down at her as she stroked his chest and congratulated herself on her shopping skills.

  
  


"I swear you should be on a billboard somewhere. I can't believe you hide this under all those robes. How are the jeans?"

  
  


She blinked up at him and Miroku realized she'd asked him a question. "Huh? Oh, they're fine."

  
  


"Good. Because they do look a little tight, but in a really good way." She grinned up at him impishly, and pressed herself against him. "Oh!" Her eyes widened suddenly. "I almost forgot!" Pushing away from him, Kagome scurried back into the cave. She returned quickly, holding her bag. 

  
  


"My friends have accused me of making you up," she said as she rummaged through its drastically reduced contents. "So I had this brilliant idea, and... Aha!" Kagome smiled triumphantly and held up a little yellow box. Miroku admitted to himself that he was completely lost. Kagome held the box up to her eyes. "Smile!"

  
  


The next few minutes passed in a confusion of Kagome having him smile at her like an idiot while she created clicking sounds from the little yellow box, and Miroku was getting more and more frustrated and he didn't know if he wanted to run from this clearing, from these lands, from this life, or if he wanted to rip the box out of Kagome's hands, and peel off her clothes and show her with his mouth and hands and body how he felt and make her choose, once and for all.

  
  


He must not have hid his emotions as well as he thought, because Kagome suddenly dropped the box into her bag and flung herself into his arms, and for a brief moment he could believe that she was feeling the same way he was, because she held him so tightly it was like she was afraid he was going to be snatched away. But that was a dangerous way to think, so Miroku nuzzled the top of her head, his hair falling into his eyes and blocking out the world so that he was in a little secret place filled with Kagome's scent, and he forced himself to enjoy the now and not think about the future.

  
  


"Come into the cave," Kagome mumbled to him, and they made their way slowly, each refusing to let the other go, into the cave where Kagome had laid out a blanket, and where the dying sun reached in with its bright rays leaving the rest hidden in dark shadow, and Miroku laid her down and unwrapped the obi and then the kimono, and she was wearing a kosode of dark blue so sheer that where the sun flowed over her body she was completely exposed.

  
  


Miroku sat back on his heels and gazed down at Kagome, her face in shadow, her body ablaze with light, and he tried to burn the image into his mind because he wanted to remember this forever, and then she arched up, the white silk slithering from her shoulders, and her eyes, when they caught the sun, were so intense he thought she would engulf him in flame just by looking at him and he decided that was exactly how he wanted to die.

  
  


"Let me," she murmured, and then she was kneeling in front of him, draped in blue light, pushing her hands up under his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, raking his chest with her nails, and then marking him with her tongue and her teeth, and he tangled his fingers in her hair, and she sank further and further down and he tried to stop her, but she just shook her head and smiled sweetly, and whispered, "I want to try this." And soon he was engulfed in heat just as her eyes had promised, and when he screamed her name to the heavens he really thought he had died. And it was perfect.

******

The sun had gone down far enough that their little cave was now completely in shadow. Miroku lay with Kagome twined around him, and he never wanted to move again. "That was pretty cool," Kagome said with a satisfied sigh.

  
  


Miroku tightened his grip. "You surprised me. I never expected you to do something like that."

  
  


"Did you like it?"

  
  


"Buddah, yes!"

  
  


Kagome giggled. "There was some conversation during the shopping. Ayumi can be surprisingly... frank. Anyway, she got me curious."

  
  


Miroku chuckled. "Remind me to get her a large and expensive gift. She has done me some good favors."

  
  


Kagome reached up and kissed him. "Will do." She ran her fingers over his chest. "I suppose the gift will have to be from both of us. I've gotten some pretty good benefits myself."

  
  


"Yes, well I wouldn't want it said that I don't fully reciprocate what I have so generously received," Miroku said, trying for pious but too relaxed and content and pleased with himself to hit it exactly.

  
  


"I'll post a notice. A praise filled notice. Everyone will be suitably impressed." Kagome stretched languorously and than settled back against him.

  
  


Miroku could feel himself slipping off towards sleep, and while part of him kept saying that sleep was a bad idea it couldn't come up with a reason why. And he made it a policy to never listen to incompetent parts of himself. Besides, it was warm, and Kagome was snuggled in his arms as she should be, and he'd recently performed to the best of his ability with notice-worthy results, whatever the hell a notice was, and damn it a nap was not undeserved.

  
  


"Mmmm, rain," Kagome mumbled beside him, and now Miroku could hear the soothing sound of small water drops bouncing on the tree tops and the leaves and the ground. And then it was the sound of medium sized water drops, doing more of a bossy tumble. And then the big boys came out to play, ready to beat the trees and the leaves and the ground into submission.

  
  


"Eep! My bag!" Kagome leapt up from her place beside him and scrambled out into the rain, managing to step right on Miroku's stomach as she went. "Ooh, sorry!" she replied to his surprised oof.

  
  


Miroku laughed at her fluster, rubbing his abused flesh, and then he remembered his robes. "Shit!" He scrambled out after her, and nearly collided with Kagome's naked form as she came dashing back in, bag nestled in her arms. It took a few moments for him to orient himself, but he soon recognized the sad looking pile that was his clothes, his sandals fallen nearby. Scooping them all up, and hoping that the outer robes had protected the rest, Miroku tried to duck back into the cave.

  
  


"Wait!" The alarm in Kagome's voice froze Miroku in place. "I have to find my kimono. If it gets muddy or wet or mussed I am dead!"

  
  


It was a little late, Miroku thought, to be worrying about the state of her kimono. And the rain, while invigorating for him, wasn't great for his clothes. But, wisely, he decided that this was one of those times it was best to suffer in silence.

  
  


"See, this is why I don't bring nice things to the feudal era," Kagome muttered from inside the cave. "Everywhere, mud. I know you're in here, I remember packing you, don't you hide from - aha!" A focused light suddenly beamed from inside the cave, blinding Miroku. Then it swept away from his face and all he could see was spots.

  
  


"Okay, Miroku, you can come in now!" Still half blind, and dripping with water, Miroku stumbled back into the cave. "Stand right over there."

  
  


Obediently, Miroku stooped in the indicated corner, clutching his clothes to his chest and trying his best to not look like a drowned rat while his hair dripped into his eyes and curled around his mouth and clung to his shoulders. Kagome was busy in the other corner, furiously wrapping up a bundle that he assumed was her more-important-then-him kimono.

  
  


As soon as she'd tucked the bundle away in her bag, Kagome turned to him. "Oh, Miroku! You're soaked!" With mollifying care she pulled up the blanket, shook out the dirt and started to wipe him down with it. "I'm sorry I made you stand out in the rain, but my mom has no idea I brought my kimono here and she's the sweetest woman in the world, she really is, but if she knew, she'd kill me. No questions. Just me, dead." She rubbed the blanket through his hair, squeezing out the excess water.

  
  


"It's okay, Kagome," Miroku said. "I've been wet before." Not that he wanted her to stop of course. It was always good to be on the receiving end of Kagome's nurturing instincts. Fortunately, Kagome ignored him, and kept on with her task until he was thoroughly dry, and full of ideas of how they could pass the time waiting out the rain.

  
  


As if she'd read his mind, Kagome looked up at him wistfully, reaching up with one hand to play with his hair. "Don't you wish you could stop time, sometimes?"

  
  


"Take a break from life for a moment? Put down all the burdens you've been struggling under and just breathe for a while?" Miroku smiled gently down at her and traced her cheek with his finger. "No. Never."

  
  


"Yeah." Kagome laughed tiredly. "Me neither." She shrugged her shoulders. "We should get dressed."

  
  


"Right now? Why? I mean, with the rain..." Miroku gestured wordlessly.

  
  


"Yeah, you'd think so, but I've just realized I'm standing in a puddle."

  
  


With a start, Miroku looked down at the ground, and it was suddenly apparent why no animal had made this little alcove its den. A steadily growing pool of water was creeping its way into the cave. He sighed. "I'll hold the bag. You get dressed first."

  
  


Miroku juggled her bag, his clothes, and Kagome's strange, fireless torch. The torch with the nicely focused light. That he could focus on anything. Kagome accused him and the entire male species of having the mind of a twelve year old, but he had fun. And he noticed that when it was his turn to get dressed, Kagome pointed the torch's light in some interesting directions herself.

  
  


"I should go home for tonight," Kagome said, when they were both dressed and staring out at the rain. "Return the kimono. Change into more feudal friendly clothes."

  
  


"When will you be back?"

  
  


"Tomorrow morning."

  
  


Miroku nodded and slipped his arm around her waist. "I don't think the well is too far from here. Did you want to run for it?"

  
  


Kagome grinned up at him. "We can use the blanket to keep the worst of it off of us."

  
  


When they reached the well Miroku didn't want to let her go. They stood under the blanket, the rain sheeting around them, and it was so easy to pretend they were the only two people in the world. But having left the nominal protection of the forest's canopy, the blanket was fast becoming saturated with water. Soon it would be no protection at all. Telling himself the faster she left the faster she'd return, he helped Kagome onto the well ledge.

  
  


Kagome brushed his cheek with her hand, smiled at him, gave him a final kiss and started to push off from the ledge.

  
  


"Wait!"

  
  


Startled, Kagome looked back at Miroku. "What?"

  
  


"My gift. It's still in your bag."

  
  


Kagome rummaged through her bag and brought out the clothes she'd bought him, bundled back into their black wrapping. As she handed them to him she tilted her head in curiosity. "You think you'll ever wear them here at all?"

  
  


Tucking the bundle into his robes, Miroku quickly contemplated an answer. The truth was probably not. He was not ready to put aside his monk's robes, and all they represented. Besides, at times it was handy to blend; be one of many destitute monks traveling the countryside. But he did not want Kagome to think her gift was unappreciated. "It would be nice to have different clothing options," he answered carefully.

  
  


"Which means, no," Kagome concluded. "So why do you want to keep them?"

  
  


The answer to that question was one he could never share with her. They were a gift from her to him. Something she'd picked out and purchased because she was thinking about him. For that reason alone he would cherish them always. Miroku slipped on an easy, good-humored grin. "I like the Buddah."

  
  


"Of course." Kagome grinned back at him, but for some reason it seemed a little off. Before he had chance to say anything else, she pushed off into the well, the familiar feeling of ancient power surged, and she was gone. This time, with the certainty of her quick return, not to mention the pounding rain, Miroku did not linger.

  
  


He still had the blanket and was using it as a shield. That may have been one reason why he did not notice the danger until it was far too late. He'd just reached the forest wall when something slammed into him, propelling him face first into a large tree trunk. The stun of the blow knocked his staff from his hand, and then he was pinned. 

  
  


A powerful grip on his left wrist prevented him from accessing the power of his wind-tunnel. Something was pushed against him, pressing him with inexorable force into the gnarled bark of the tree. And a voice, thick with rage, whispered in his ear. "No one's here to protect you now, you little fuck. And this time, I'm going to kill you."

  
  



	7. Discovery

Right, so, I know I must apologize for waiting so long to update. Especially after leaving you all with such a cliffhanger ending. (Which, strangely enough, I didn't see as too cliffhangie, after all - I knew what was going to happen. Took my husband to point it out. Heh.) I'd love to say that I've spent the time honing each sentence and phrase of this new chapter, sweating over every word, but sadly - no. I was wrapped up in boring, deadliney, job type things. Poo. So the usual foolish mistakes will occur. Things may go wildly OOC. Men will pale. Women will faint. And, despite my best efforts, names may be misspelled.

  
  


And, erm, thank you to Arium for pointing out that I've flipped Miroku's wind tunnel. See, this is why no one will include me in their world domination plans. "Take China!" they'll say. "Right-ie-o!" I'll say cheerily. And then I'll invade Russia.

  
  


Chapter Seven: In which our hero breaks some things and a discovery is made.

  
  
  
  


Rain beat down in an unstoppable flood; the roar of its passage was like a thousand oceans. And Miroku was drowning. He struggled weakly against the force of his own death, but without much needed air, his attempts were worse than useless. Every time he moved he was pressed tighter to the tree and his lungs had less room to expand. Logically he knew that his one chance of survival was to stay passively still, but his body could not accept that. So he kept on struggling. And dying.

  
  


Light left him, darkening down to tiny pinpricks. His body felt strangely weightless, otherworldly, as though it was preparing him for the journey beyond. His one coherent thought was that this was an incredibly stupid way to die. But then, inexplicably, the pressure behind him lessened. Miroku felt himself slipping down the tree, rough bark scraping his face as he sank to the ground. He greedily sucked air into empty lungs, his ribs creaking painfully as they were finally allowed to expand.

  
  


Suddenly his robes tightened around his neck, cutting off his air. Again. And he was flying through the rain; thrown with an inhuman strength to land on the wet ground heavily enough to drive what little breath he'd gained back out of his body. Desperately, Miroku ignored the protest of his body and reached into his robes. The rain was falling thickly enough to be blinding, but if he could bring an ofuda into play, he didn't think accuracy would be too important. But before his fingers could even brush against paper, his wrists were grabbed. 

  
  


This time, both of his hands were wrenched over his head, pinned down to the ground by a humiliatingly unbreakable one handed grip. A weight settled onto his stomach, and then his assailant was leaning over him, blocking the deluge as he stared grimly down at Miroku, hair a dripping curtain around him, rain running down his face like tears, ears flat with rage. And Miroku realized that the only reason he was alive right now had nothing to do with mercy and everything to do with the demonic lust for torn flesh. Suffocation would not be satisfying; there needed to be blood-spray. 

  
  


"Wait," he gasped. "Inuyasha, please -," He was cut off by the half-demon's hand wrapping around his neck, claws digging into tender skin.

  
  


"Wait for what, Miroku," Inuyasha spat. "For you to explain? You honestly think you can talk your way of this?"

  
  


"It's not what you think!"

  
  


"Stop lying to me!" 

  
  


And Miroku was flying through the air again, though this time he hit a tree with a crunching sound he didn't want to think about before he crumpled to the ground. Inuyasha was on him before Miroku even had time to register that his hands were free. And then he was pinned again, hands over head, Inuyasha's knee on his stomach, his claws at Miroku's throat, ribs screaming out a protest that brought back the whole thrown-into-a-tree thing that Miroku was doing his best to ignore.

  
  


"Inuyasha don't! Listen to me, it was just a kiss. Just a harmless kiss!"

  
  


Inuyasha looked down at him, rage and betrayal twisting his face into a snarling mask. "I heard you. And I," he looked slightly nauseous, "I smelled you. And when the rains came I fucking saw you! You and her - " Inuyasha's eyes blazed. "You shouldn't of ever looked at her you filthy shit! You shouldn't of ever THOUGHT about her!" His hand tightened.

  
  


By all the demons in hell, Inuyasha had seen them at the cave? Miroku's mind went blank. There was no reasonable explanation for what had happened at the cave. Nothing he could think of to stop Inuyasha from tearing his throat out. He tried to come up with something, anything, but his persuasive abilities abandoned him. And Inuyasha sneered down at him, lips twisted into a terrible parody of a smile.

  
  


"What? No more lies, Miroku? Are you done betraying our friendship? My trust?"

  
  


Miroku choked out Inuyasha's name. Because he was wrong. It wasn't like that at all. Inuyasha ignored him.

  
  


"She's pure, Miroku. She has an innocence I would die to protect, that you should have died to protect, and instead you treated it like a challenge." Inuyasha spat out those last words, his voice dripping with disgust.

  
  


"Inuyasha, no. It wasn't like that!"

  
  


Inuyasha's hand tightened.

"She came to me!" Miroku stared up at Inuyasha in shock. He hadn't meant to say that. 

  
  


Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Stop. Fucking. Lying!" But his grip lessened. Just a little bit, but it lessened, so Miroku decided to damn all of his principles and go with the truth.

  
  


"I'm not! Damn it, listen to me! She was tired of being untouched. Tired of being overlooked, and she wanted it to be you, but you kept her at a distance, so she came to me." Miroku closed his eyes and turned his face away. "She came to me, but she always wanted it to be you."

  
  


Inuyasha shifted, and his knee came off of Miroku's stomach, and Miroku was starting to think that maybe he'd get out of this alive. But then Inuyasha laughed, a dry, unamused laugh, and his hopes plummeted.

  
  


"You are so full of shit."

  
  


Miroku looked up and Inuyasha was smiling down at him again, and somehow that was not comforting. Not comforting at all.

  
  


Inuyasha leaned closer. "I told you, I heard EVERYTHING, bastard." 

  
  


He started to dig his claws into Miroku's stomach, and Miroku had seen men disemboweled, and it wasn't pretty and it smelled worse and he sure as hell didn't want to die that way. He could see his staff, gleaming in the rain, just a hands breadth away, but impossibly out of reach. He tried to twist away from Inuyasha's claws, but as soon as he started to move, the half-demon brought his knee down onto Miroku's thighs, and he was trapped and he was going to die, and damn Inuyasha to the ninth level of hell, he'd been telling the TRUTH!

  
  


"Listen to me you fucking moron, SHE. WANTED. YOU!!!" And Inuyasha blinked down at him in surprise, but Miroku was too pissed to notice. "Do you think it's been easy, being your fucking stand in! Do you think I enjoy being second choice, knowing that every time she closes her eyes, she's picturing you! It's been fucking hell and it's all because of you and your damn indecisiveness and your complete inability to notice when paradise is being offered to you on a fucking platter!" With a roar of rage, Miroku twisted out of Inuyasha's grasp and rolled onto his feet, grabbing up his staff as he moved.

  
  


Inuyasha leapt to his feet as soon as Miroku had gained his, claws at the ready. And it looked like he was thinking. Which was terrifying in its own way. "So I'm supposed to thank you for your sacrifice? Is that it? You really do think I'm stupid." He made a feint at Miroku, and Miroku swung his staff up protectively.

  
  


"But let's say you're telling the truth," Inuyasha stalked slowly towards Miroku, forcing him back out of the tree line and into the clearing. "Let's say it's me she wants and you're just doing me a favor." He was grinning a small, angry, bloodthirsty grin, and there was a calculating look in his eyes. "There's an easy answer to this whole thing."

  
  


Miroku tightened his grip on his staff. His robes were soaked and the rain was driving his hair into his eyes. And just to add to the excitement, his footing wasn't all that great. The grass was rain slicked and slippery with mud and he knew that if he went down, Inuyasha would be on him in less than a heartbeat, his claws digging into something vital. And even as he contemplated that, Inuyasha suddenly turned into a red blur, and he brought up his staff as his mind screamed, too slow, too slow, and something tugged at his side, and then Inuyasha was behind him.

  
  


"Surprised someone as smart as you never thought of it." Inuyasha stared thoughtfully at his reddened claws, watching the color mingle with the rain and drip down his hand to circle round his wrist and run down his arm.

  
  


As Miroku turned to face him, he slipped down to one knee, a stinging pain flaring in his side. Blood, he realized. The red on Inuyasha's claws was his blood.

  
  


Inuyasha looked down at Miroku, a dry grin twisting across his face. "I'll take it from here. And you never touch her again."

  
  


Miroku shook his head, throwing rain soaked hair out of his eyes. "What?" Nothing Inuyasha said made sense. Take what from where?

  
  


"Bitch has needs. Obviously I've been neglecting them. So thanks for the assist, but I'll take it from here." And still Inuyasha wore that tight, angry, calculating, grin.

  
  


It was funny, because the rain was warm, but Miroku was suddenly cold. He knew he was gripping his staff, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel the squelching mud beneath his knee. He couldn't even feel the pounding rain. It was like his entire body had gone numb. His mouth opened, but he had nothing to say.

  
  


Inuyasha, examining his blooded claws again, was oblivious. "You always make out that you're this huge gift to women, but how hard could it be? If she wants it so badly, I can give -,"

  
  


Miroku had no memory of consciously deciding to move. One moment he was kneeling in the mud, the next he was charging at Inuyasha, staff crackling with holy energy he didn't remember calling forth. The first swing took Inuyasha in the face, Miroku's arm thrilling with the feel of breaking bone. And then he was reversing direction, going in low to sweep Inuyasha's legs out from under him. The half-demon crashed to the ground and Miroku speared his staff down for the final deadly strike.

  
  


Feeling returned. Sound returned. And someone was screaming. It was a sound of pure fury and Miroku was shocked to realize it was coming from him. His arm muscles were trembling with the effort of pushing downward, and Inuyasha was gripping the bottom of his staff, barely holding off the lethal blow Miroku had aimed at his throat. The staff was burning with power and Miroku knew that it must be causing Inuyasha a huge amount of pain. He was a half-demon after all. But he was laughing. The crazy son of a bitch was laughing.

  
  


Miroku took a step back, pulling his staff out of Inuyasha's grip, shaking his head to clear it of the bloodthirsty wrath that had been coursing through him. "What's so funny? Inuyasha, I almost killed you!" And even though Inuyasha had been trying to kill him, Miroku was still horrified. Inuyasha was the one who flew into murderous rages. Miroku was supposed to be more disciplined. 

  
  


Inuyasha pushed himself up into a sitting position, taking the time to spit out some blood and what looked like a few teeth, still chuckling as he massaged his injured hands. "And you call me a moron," he said half under his breath. He looked up at Miroku. "Gonna change your story now?"

  
  


Miroku took another step back, holding his staff up protectively. Just because Inuyasha seemed passive at the moment did not mean it was wise to lower his guard. "What do you mean?"

  
  


Inuyasha chose to ignore him. "I have to admit you're sure as hell not my first choice. But you're better than that fucking Hojou. At least you can fight." He grinned slyly at Miroku. "When you're properly motivated anyway."

  
  


"Inuyasha -,"

  
  


"There will be a few ground rules," Inuyasha said right over Miroku's weak attempt at an interruption. "First, no kids. Not now. You wait 'til we're done. Second, nothing goes on in my hearing range. You groan like a wounded pig, monk." Inuyasha leapt to his feet, and Miroku took another step back, tightening his grip on the staff. But Inuyasha merely pointed a stern finger at him. "And third, no more sneaking around. You start treating her with some damn respect."

  
  


"What the hell are you talking about?!" Miroku felt like his head was going to fall off. Or explode. Or at the very least spin around a few times. Because Inuyasha was making no sense at all. None.

  
  


"You really are stupid." Inuyasha said tiredly, like Miroku was the one being difficult. "She's yours now. You made a claim, you backed it up, and now she's yours."

  
  


Miroku sat down. Stupid thing to do when being confronted by an angry demon, half or otherwise. But his legs just stopped working. Even when Inuyasha squatted down in front of him, leaning in so that all Miroku could see was the golden burn of his eyes, there was no way the monk could make himself move.

  
  


"You do make a claim, don't you Miroku?" Inuyasha whispered, the cold threat of sudden violence rippling through his muted voice. "She wasn't just some idle entertainment was she?"

  
  


'No! No. I just..." Miroku looked away from Inuyasha's fierce gaze. "It's just... doesn't she get a say?"

  
  


Inuyasha snorted, "Yeah. Sure." He waved a hand in dismissal of Miroku's very real worry and stood up, obviously satisfied with whatever had just happened.

  
  


Miroku's head was still spinning, but he was able to climb to his feet. "I think," he said tentatively, and then with greater authority, "I think I need a drink."

  
  


Inuyasha laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Fuck yeah! Now you're talking sense."

  
  


"You're going to drink with me?" That had never happened before.

  
  


"Hell yeah. We're family now," Inuyasha said cheerfully. Then added in a mutter, "In the weird kind of fucked up way that seems to be my life," as he headed off towards the village. And Miroku, who decided he was no longer going to be surprised by anything, ever again, stumbled after him.

  
  


Miroku picked up a large quantity of sake from his usual village source, while Inuyasha lurked around the corner. Neither of them had discussed it, but they both knew that while the villagers tolerated the half-demon's presence, and some even thought of him as a sort of good luck charm, a possibly-soon-to-be-drunk demon would have caused worry. So Miroku got to look like he was about to embark on a major drinking binge. Which kind of fit with the reputation he'd built up. The local brewer didn't blink at the size of his order and if the man was startled by Miroku's disheveled appearance, he had the good grace not to let it show. 

  
  


Under the same theory that 'drinking demon' equaled 'unhappy villagers' they avoided any public gathering areas and settled into the same shed Miroku had used to store the bandit's takings earlier that day. Very little light seeped through the one narrow window as dusk, unperturbed by the torrential rainfall, crept steadily across the land. So they kept the door open to coax what dim light was left into the small room.

  
  


Miroku tried to find a comfortable position, gave up after discovering the tenth previously undiscovered injury, and instead broke into the sake. It wasn't the best he'd ever had, a touch too sweet, but it got the job done. So he let his head drop back against the wall behind him (and yup, there was another bruise) as he enjoyed the slow burn of the first few swallows. The sound of rain was wonderfully hypnotic, and as the darkness grew, Miroku gained a strange sense of equilibrium, helped of course by the sake. He still felt like he was spinning just a little left of reality, but now at least, reality seemed ready to spin along with him.

  
  


Inuyasha was just a dark shape in the shadows, and Miroku didn't realize he'd been staring at the half-demon until yellow eyes blazed out at him. "What?" Inuyasha asked irritably.

  
  


Well, since he asked. "No kids? As your first ground rule?"

  
  


"Yeah well, pregnancy can do weird things to women. And Kagome's not very steady with her priestess skills to begin with." Inuyasha looked away from him to stare back out at the rain.

  
  


"You've thought about the effect of pregnancy on Kagome?" Miroku tried really hard to match that sort of responsible thinking with the Inuyasha he knew.

  
  


"Not on Kagome," Inuyasha said quickly. "I... just... Let's just say that I've thought about priestesses and pregnancy before." There was the sound of copious amounts of liquid being swallowed. 

  
  


Miroku frowned at the Inuyasha shadow. Kikyou sprang immediately to mind, and he started to get a fuzzy picture of Inuyasha's earlier meeting with the dead priestess. Blech. "Recently?" he asked.

  
  


And Inuyasha was back to the glaring. "No, not recently! Before, when I... I mean, she... Fuck, Miroku, just drop it, okay?" 

  
  


Miroku was more than willing. Kikyou was beautiful, but there was the whole being dead thing to get over and the visuals were not fun. "You didn't kill me," he said by way of a topic change, then winced. That was supposed to be a topic he avoided. Damn, damn, damn the sake. How much had he had anyway?

  
  


But Inuyasha was laughing, a quiet easy laugh. "Yeah, but I could have, monk. Didn't think it'd be that easy."

  
  


"You surprised me!" Miroku said petulantly. And he hadn't meant to say that out loud.

  
  


"Next time I'll give you plenty of warning. Look out, Miroku! I'm coming to kill you!" Inuyasha was really laughing now. Oh yeah, the man was a wit.

  
  


"Yeah, well, I got you in the end," Miroku said defensively. And damn it, that was supposed to be another avoided topic.

  
  


Inuyasha hiccuped a few times. "Yeah. You did. Once I got you going."

  
  


Miroku stared back out at the rain. It was starting to die off a little. He could see the lights of the village now. And he really had almost killed Inuyasha. In a moment of passion. His mouth twisted sourly. That was not what he was supposed to be like. With the kind of weapon he walked around with, he needed to be fully under control. All the time. Instead he'd almost killed Inuyasha. He was a horribly shitty monk.

  
  


"You are a shitty monk. But you didn't really try and kill me."

  
  


For a heart-twisting moment Miroku thought that Inuyasha had developed the ability to read thoughts. Then he realized he'd been thinking out loud. So much for control. He sighed. "Yes, I did Inuyasha. And if you'd been just a little slower I would have succeeded."

  
  


The Inuyasha shadow leaned a little closer, eyes burning. "No way you could kill me with just your staff, wimp. If you really wanted me dead you'd have to release your wind tunnel." The eyes focused back out at the night. "And even then, you'd fail."

  
  


Miroku blinked at him for a few moments, then stared down at his covered palm. He hadn't even considered the wind tunnel. Why? It was hard to remember what he'd been thinking at the time. Miroku wasn't sure that any thinking had occurred at all. All he could recall was a burning need to see Inuyasha's brains sprayed across the grassy clearing. And he'd wanted to feel the blows. He could remember that. Because Inuyasha had threatened to take Kagome away from him. Which lead to a truly terrifying thought.

  
  


"I think," he murmured, then louder, worry clouding his voice, "Inuyasha, I think I love her."

  
  


Inuyasha snorted. "Really."

  
  


"But I can't! Inuyasha, I can't have her! I'm - tainted! And - I'm a bad man, Inuyasha. Very bad. And - and - I'm..." Dying. He was going to say dying. But some things should never be said. Never. "I can't have her," he said quietly.

  
  


Inuyasha continued to stare out at the rain, now just a gentle shower. He sighed, and Miroku didn't think he'd ever heard him sound so despondent. "Too late, Miroku," he said. And the rain stopped.

  
  


"No. Inuyasha, this wasn't supposed to happen. I guarded against this. I had it all carefully planned."

  
  


"Yeah, well no one screws up a plan like Kagome." Inuyasha laughed fondly. "I think it's one of her secret powers."

  
  


Miroku dropped his head against the wall, idly reminding himself that he had a bruise back there, and stared at the shadowy darkness of the ceiling. "Shit," he murmured.

  
  


"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed.

  
  


There was more drinking, and some more talking, but on much safer topics. Places they'd been, foes they'd defeated, the usual things. By the time the sake ran out and they started making their way home, Miroku was trying to teach Inuyasha a dirty song he'd picked up while on the road. At a fishing village he thought, though that part was a bit fuzzy. One thing was certain: Inuyasha could not sing. What he lacked in pitch, however, he made up for in volume. So they were both singing with great enthusiasm when they stumbled through Lady Kaede's door, each trying to prop the other up.

  
  


"...and washed her clothes away!" Inuyasha bellowed, swinging the arm not tangled around Miroku out widely. 

  
  


"Away! Away! Away!" Miroku added in a rather beautiful counter point harmony if he did say so himself. Then he noticed the lack of lights. "Inuyasha! We need to be extra quiet! Everyone's sleeping!" Okay, so that wasn't quite the whisper he'd been going for. Something was wrong with his volume control.

  
  


"Not any longer," a voice said dryly. There was a spark and then a flaring light illuminating Lady Kaede's unamused face. She gave them her best glare and then her good eye widened in surprise. Someone gasped.

  
  


"What happened? Where's Kagome?" Sango moved forward into the light, her sleep lined face twisting with worry. "Who attacked you?"

  
  


Miroku squinted in Sango's general direction, partially blinded by the sudden light, and partially confused by Sango's panic. He glanced over at Inuyasha, a 'what the hell's wrong with her?' look all ready to go, and then he saw what the commotion was about.

  
  


"Inuyasha! Look at you!" The side of Inuyasha's face was one angry, mottled, bruise. And his cheekbone looked - wrong. Like it had slipped out of place somehow. Though with the swelling it was hard to tell. The wild grin Inuyasha was giving him did nothing to improve his appearance. Especially with the missing teeth.

  
  


"You should see the other guy," Inuyasha said with a chortle. Then he let Miroku drop. "There's the one you get to poke at, old woman. Kagome went back to her own time and I'm going to bed." 

  
  


There may have been some argument over that final statement. Miroku wasn't sure, because hitting the floor had been a really bad idea. First there was the pain, and then there was... No, it was all pain. Damn the sake and its insufficient numbing properties. He made a pitiful moaning sound and Lady Kaede was leaning over him, blocking out the steadily increasing light.

  
  


"Sango, leave the lamps for a moment and help me get him onto a bed."

  
  


Which sounded like a fluffy good thing, especially compared to the hard wooden floor. But there was moving involved, and Miroku was afraid that he didn't handle it in quite the stoic manner he was usually so good at. But no one commented so maybe he'd been okay, and once he was there, the bed really was nice.

  
  


There was another not so great moment when his upper garments were removed. He'd completely forgotten about the wounds in his side. He remembered them now. Material had matted into his blood as it dried and he thought that Sango was trying to be careful as she pulled his clothing away from his side, at least she winced with every slow tug, but it was still an experience he would have rather faced while in a drunken stupor. Which he'd failed to achieve.

  
  


"What's this?"

  
  


Miroku blinked blearily over at Sango as she pulled something from his robes to show to Lady Kaede. There was a flash of shiny black, and Miroku was struggling to get up, reaching out towards Sango, and shrugging aside Lady Kaede's restraining hand. "That's mine!" he cried as he grabbed at the package. "It was given to me!"

  
  


Startled, Sango let him have the bag, and Miroku collapsed back down, hugging it to his chest. "It makes me a billboard," he earnestly explained to Lady Kaede. "She likes billboards." 

  
  


And she nodded down at him, stroking his hair out of his face. "Of course, child. We'll keep it right here beside you." She tucked the package on the floor beside him, and put his hand on top of it, so he could feel that it was there. She smiled reassuringly, and he smiled sleepily back at her.

  
  


He faded in and out after that. Lady Kaede and Sango bathed and bandaged his various hurts, and he must have cracked some ribs, because there was a not so soothing part where he had to sit up while they wrapped his chest. But he even slept through that a little. And finally they were done, and Lady Kaede made him drink a truly foul tea, which he figured was punishment for waking her up. Though she just smiled at him when he muttered as much, and said he'd thank her in the morning. Then she made him drink another cup of it, so he just shut up and drank, and finally he was allowed to drift blissfully into sleep.


	8. Declaration

And here's the next chapter! The good news is that I have a Beta now. Everyone give dvana a huge round of applause. So there will be no more moments of extremely embarrassing mistakes to suffer through. Yay! Except of course, where I stubbornly strike out on my own, casting my defiance at the laws of English and grammar and polite society. Then, predictably, embarrassment will continue. All that's right and proper is dvana's. All that's not is mine.

Chapter 8: In which our hero suffers a bit and, for better or for worse, a declaration is made

Miroku dreamed. He lay on thick grass, his body warmed by summer's sun. There was a lake, its shoreline thick with lotus flowers, deep waters reflecting a heat-hazed sky. His head rested on Kagome's welcoming lap while she fed him large slices of overripe peaches, the juices dripping into her hand, sliding around her fingers, staining his lips with their sticky sweetness. Inuyasha and Kouga knelt nearby, adorned in the ornate costumes and stylized makeup of courtly Geishas. Inuyasha was singing as Kouga played the koto. Their music, gentle and melancholy, wove Miroku and Kagome into their own private world, heavy with the honeyed scent of the tender fruit Kagome slipped between his lips to melt on his tongue. Kagome was murmuring his name, and Miroku lost himself in the enticing movements of her mouth. Her voice whispered into his mind, slow and perfumed as the summer breeze, "Shall I dance for you, beloved? Shall I dance?" 

Then she poked him in the nose. Hard. With a yelp Miroku woke up. And found himself staring into cornflower blue eyes, which blinked down at him from a startling close distance. He tried to jerk away, and blue eyes danced backwards. Then his mind caught up with him and things started to look familiar. "Hey Shippou," he managed to croak out of a dry, roughened throat.

Shippou climbed carefully back onto his chest, somehow managing to avoid those areas that were bruised and battered. "You stink," he said matter of factly, wrinkling his little nose.

Miroku could not disagree

"And you look terrible."

Miroku stared steadily up at the young fox demon.

"You drank too much last night." Shippou folded his arms and gave a prim little sniff.

Miroku raised an eyebrow.

"Mama always said papa deserved the headache he got when he drank too much," Shippou informed him.

Which made Miroku realize something. His head didn't really hurt. At least, not in a hangover sort of way. Sunlight streamed through the open windows and pierced through the woven door covering, but the brightness barely bothered him.

"Lady Kaede said you'll have enough hurts to deal with though." Shippou's frown implied that he didn't quite agree with the old priestess. "She left you some tea you're supposed to drink as soon as you wake up."

Miroku pushed himself into a sitting position with a stifled groan, envying Shippou his easy movement as he leapt to the floor. There was a cup of tea beside his bed, the liquid long cooled to room temperature. Miroku took a small sip, made a face, and then gulped down the remainder as quickly as possible. The foul flavor brought back a vague memory from last night, and while he still suspected Lady Kaede of creating the bad taste on purpose, he had to admit that if this tea was indeed responsible for preventing the expected hangover he was grateful for its medicinal properties. Avoiding the morning-after pain was definitely worth stomaching the nauseating taste.

Miroku cleared his throat and looked blearily around the room. "Where is everyone?" he asked, his voice still rough and creaky.

"Lady Kaede's gone to check on Mrs. Hino's new baby. Sango and Kirara are off practicing battle stuff, which I still say is just playing and they could've let me go too." Shippou pouted briefly. "Oh, and Inuyasha's gone to get Kagome."

Miroku froze, staring at Shippou in swiftly mounting horror. Shippou, busy creating shadow puppets in the strong morning sun, was oblivious.

"He said he had some stuff to explain to her, and not to worry, he'd take care of it. And he told me not to wake you until he was in Kagome's time." Shippou turned to blink up at Miroku, his hands forming the shape of a springing leopard on one wooden wall.

Miroku managed to heave himself to his feet and hobble towards the open door, ignoring his half-clothed state and the stiff and pulling protest of his body. Shippou trotted curiously after him. "Where're you going? Did you need to talk to Inuyasha? He's already gone, Miroku."

Miroku swayed unsteadily in the doorway. Shippou was right. Inuyasha was probably already talking to Kagome; already 'explaining' the situation to her in his usual sensitive and tactful manner. Miroku could imagine her reaction. Vividly. Great Buddah. She was never going to talk to him again. With a heartsick moan, he sank down to his knees and tried to keep from throwing up.

"Yup." Shippou patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Too much to drink."

Miroku would have liked to stay slumped in the doorway forever. But the need to not look like a pathetic drunk when Kagome came back to kill him finally forced him to his feet. If he was going to die, he was going to do it with dignity. And on the bright side, she'd probably return dragging Inuyasha's corpse behind her. Miroku didn't mind dying so much if it meant the infuriating half-demon went down with him.

He'd almost finished with his morning ablutions (it'd taken a bit longer what with all the bandages) when he saw Inuyasha come stomping out of the forest. Kagome was not with him and Miroku didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Taking a deep breath he finished tying on his pants and went outside, ready to hear the worst.

"I tell you what, monk," Inuyasha huffed angrily, "you're welcome to her. Headstrong bitch."

Miroku pulled his hair back, securing it into place while slanting a quick glance at Shippou. The young fox demon was playing with a ball and seemed oblivious. "She didn't agree with your proposal?" he asked carefully. Miroku had used the old, 'don't mind me, I'm totally involved in my playing,' trick when he was a child and wanted to know what the grownups were so upset about, and he strongly suspected that Shippou was a master of that particular game.

"She wouldn't even listen. She was all," and here Inuyasha put on a squeaky falsetto that sounded nothing like Kagome, "'Is anyone dead? Is anyone dying?' And when I said no, she was all, 'Then go home and let me finish my breakfast!'" Inuyasha sat down with a disgusted grunt. "Then she threatened to 'sit' me until I'd dug through to 'Amer-ca.' Whatever the hell that means."

Miroku felt like a sword blade had just been lifted from his neck. "So you've told her nothing?"

"Weren't you listening? She was too busy screaming at me. Couldn't get a word in edgewise. I'm telling you, Miroku, you'd better set the law down fast with her. Otherwise she'll end up walking all over you."

Miroku noticed that Shippou had rolled his ball a little closer, very carefully not looking at him or Inuyasha. "Mmm," he murmured noncommittally, desperately trying to figure out how to steer the conversation away from this particular topic. If Shippou figured out what was going on, the entire village would find out, and someone would tell Kagome, and he'd go back to being a dead man.

"Damn, Miroku, you look like shit!" Inuyasha grinned up at him. "Looks like someone kicked your ass from here to the moon."

Well, that was one way of changing the topic. Miroku gave Inuyasha a sour look. The half-demon, of course, seemed fully recovered from yesterday's bout. The only thing that suggested Inuyasha had received injury was a slash of red on his cheek. And that served more to point out how high his bloody cheekbones were than anything else. Sometimes Miroku really hated the half-demon.

With a put-upon sigh, Miroku fetched his robes and his small sewing kit and sank gingerly down in a good spot of sunlight. Unlike some half-demons he knew, he didn't have self-repairing, self-cleaning, always-looking-like-new-no matter-what-their-owner-put-them-through clothing. He settled into sewing up the new rips in his too often repaired robes and did his best to ignore Inuyasha lounging lazily beside him.

"See, that's exactly what I mean. You should get Kagome to do that for you."

Miroku swore he saw Shippou's ears twitch and he frowned at Inuyasha. "Your head hurt much?" he asked, rather nastily. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice the tone.

"Nah," he said casually. "Didn't drink enough."

Miroku stared at him, completely nonplused. "Inuyasha, you were singing. Loudly."

"And really badly too," Shippou piped up helpfully.

"How would you know, runt. You were snoring so loud the stars were complaining."

Shippou planted his fists on his hips indignantly. "Was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

They went on like that for a while, degenerating quickly into childish insults, but Miroku wasn't paying attention. For some strange reason he'd been about to defend Inuyasha's singing voice. Which made no sense. His memory of the night before wasn't the clearest, but he did seem to recall some horribly off-key noises coming from Inuyasha.

"Do you really want to make me get up and come over there, brat?" Inuyasha was finally getting bored with the name calling.

"You couldn't catch me, you lazy, stinky-butt, dog-head!" Shippou, however, was not.

Miroku sighed deeply. If they kept this up, he WAS going to get a headache. Which would mean that he'd drank that nasty tea concoction for nothing. "Shippou," he said smoothly but loudly, deftly cutting off Inuyasha's no doubt eloquent retort, "why don't you go to the well and wait for Kagome to return? That way she doesn't have to walk back all by herself."

Shippou's eyes lit up, more than likely imagining all the candy he'd get with no Inuyasha to compete with. "Sure thing, Miroku!" Grinning widely, Shippou scampered off towards the forest.

Miroku felt a bit bad sending the fox kit off like that, but he could not risk another chance of Inuyasha and Kagome being alone togther.

"'Dog-head'," Inuyasha mused quietly when Shippou was gone. "I don't even know what that means. How is that an insult?"

Miroku bit off the final piece of thread and examined his sewing job carefully under the sun's strong rays. "That was a battle of your choosing. I refuse to get involved." Satisfied with his work, he climbed laboriously to his feet and carefully put his newly repaired clothes on, trying to disturb his ribs as little as possible. He was busy brushing off the worst of the mud when he noticed Inuyasha staring thoughtfully at him. Or more properly, at his robes.

"What?" Miroku asked testily, suddenly self-conscious of his admittedly ragged appearance.

"I was wondering about your future plans. I mean after Naraku is defeated. You don't plan on being a traveling monk forever, do you?" Inuyasha squinted up at him.

"I've not really thought that far ahead." Miroku avoided clenching his gloved hand into a fist by sheer will.

"Well start thinking," Inuyasha said imperiously. "I'm not going to let you drag Kagome all around the countryside."

And now Miroku was trying to avoid wide-eyed shock. "You drag her around the countryside all the time!" So he didn't avoid the shock so well.

"That's different," Inuyasha gave a dismissive wave. "What I want to know is how you plan on taking care of her." He fixed Miroku with a steely glare. "She deserves the best. I don't want her living like some farmer's wife."

Miroku sucked in a breath. What the hell was wrong with farmers? His mother had come from a farming family. "If you're that worried about proper bloodlines, why don't you go find Kouga? He is a prince after all," Miroku said coldly.

"He's a wolf-demon!" Inuyasha replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah, so it's a specific sort of royalty you're looking for," Miroku said with mock thoughtfulness. "How disappointing for you that you couldn't find a properly docile pampered little prince to take Kagome."

Inuyasha frowned confusedly. "What are you... Are you getting mad about this?"

"Oh no. How could I, a simple, common monk, be angry with a being of such noble lineage?"

Inuyasha's frown deepened. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, monk. I'm just trying to make the best of a bad situation." He leapt easily to his feet. "But I can tell you this: if you don't start thinking responsibly I'll finish what I started yesterday."

Miroku's mind boggled at the thought of Inuyasha lecturing him about responsibility. "I don't need you to tell me how to take care of a woman."

Inuyasha's eyes flashed with anger at the sneer implicit in Miroku's remark, and Miroku suddenly wondered why he was baiting the half-demon while he was both injured and pretty much unarmed. He knew Inuyasha wasn't trying to be insulting. And frankly, his questions were legitimate. Miroku needed to defuse the situation before it got out of control. He took a deep calming breath, "Inuyasha -,"

Inuyasha cut him off with a frustrated growl. "I'm talking about Kagome's life here, shit-head!"

And there was the opening. "I can give Kagome a good life, dog-head."

Inuyasha blinked wordlessly at Miroku for a moment and then fought a grin. "You forgot 'stinky-butt.'"

"It was implied," Miroku said piously.

Inuyasha broke into a full belly-laugh, and Miroku allowed himself a small smile. Eventually, Inuyasha brought himself under control. "You really can take care of her? And don't twist my words, pervert!"

"I have several small...," Miroku searched for the best word, "nest-eggs stashed in safe places around the country." And was this ever the last thing he'd thought he'd do with them.

Inuyasha nodded knowingly. "From all your con-jobs," he said sagely.

Miroku's protest (con-job was such an ugly word) was cut off by a cheerful cry.

"Hi Miroku! Hi Inuyasha!" Kagome was back.

Miroku felt elated. And ill. And once again where Kagome was concerned, absolutely clueless on how to handle a woman. Was there a manly way to run for the hills?

"So here's the plan." Inuyasha settled into an almost battle ready stance. "You gag her, and I'll tell her how it's going to be."

Okay, so he at least had a good idea of what NOT to do. "Umm. Yeah. Or, we could try letting me talk to her first."

Inuyasha looked doubtful. "I don't know. Talking to Kagome always seems to get me in trouble."

And there were some choice comments Miroku could make in response to that particular observation. He stifled the urge. "Trust me in this, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha frowned and then nodded. Reluctantly, but he nodded. And then Kagome was there, smiling at the two of them - and it was too late for Miroku to run for it. Especially when her cheerful look changed to worry and she reached up to gingerly touch the cuts on his face.

"Miroku! What happened?" Then she turned on Inuyasha. "You told me no one was injured."

"Dying." Inuyasha said with a sniff, folding his arms and sticking his nose in the air. "I told you no one was dying."

But Kagome had already focused back on Miroku. "Does it hurt? Has it been looked at? Have you cleaned it properly? Usually people don't, and then there's infection and scarring... " Tucking her arm through Miroku's, and barely taking a breathe between words, she led him back inside, dropping her bag and making a beeline for Lady Kaede's medicinal supplies. "...blood poisoning, and then you'd die!" She glared fiercely at Miroku and, apparently having finished lecturing him, turned her attention to the supplies, muttering under her breath as she pulled out what she needed.

Usually Miroku enjoyed Kagome in full healer mode. She was such an adorable mixture of bossy and concerned. And he'd always relished the foreign sensation of such undivided attention, even before he and Kagome started their 'arrangement.' But they were alone now and the thought of what he had to say to her filled him with terror. He could actually feel himself trembling.

Fortunately, Kagome was too busy going through Lady Kaede's supplies to notice his strange behavior. He tried to say her name but his voice stuck in his throat so he coughed instead but still, she turned to him. As she smiled her eyes softened in a way he thought was maybe just for him, and he started to reach for her, just wanting to hold her and smell her comforting scent and revel in her closeness for a moment, just one more moment - and Shippou tumbled out of her bag.

"Kagome, there's no candy in here," he complained.

Miroku stifled a moan of frustration and went to sink down miserably in a corner.

Kagome flashed Miroku a wry look and shook her head. "I brought you plenty yesterday, Shippou. Don't tell me you ate it all already!"

Shippou hesitated, probably not wanting to seem too greedy and risk ending a good thing. Finally he went with the hurt little boy look, all big glistening eyes and trembling mouth. "But... but you always bring me candy." Miroku had to admit it: the fox kit was good.

"Tell you what Shippou," Kagome said placatingly as she advanced on Miroku, special life-saving cleaning supplies in hand , "next time I'll bring you an extra helping."

"Sucker," Miroku said. Kagome gave a small shrug of helpless agreement, and Shippou stuck his tongue out at him.

Kagome knelt gracefully beside Miroku and started carefully cleaning the scrapes on his face. She winced as she dabbed, which was cute because it barely hurt Miroku at all. "How did this happen?" she asked.

"Got too close to a tree," Miroku said vaguely.

Shippou scrambled up onto Kagome's shoulder. "And he was drunk," he said helpfully.

"Last night?" Kagome looked surprised, staring at Miroku questioningly.

"Ummm..." He liked Shippou, he really did. But right now Miroku could cheerfully strangle him. 

"Lady Kaede said he broke some ribs," Shippou added.

Now Kagome was frowning, and Miroku squirmed uncomfortably as she looked at him. "Take off your shirt," she said. And who knew such promising words could sound so ominous.

"Always willing to disrobe for..." Miroku's weak joke trailed off as Kagome's eyes narrowed. He obediently stripped down to his waist.

Kagome sucked in a breath and reached out to run her fingers gently across the wrappings around his chest, over some of the more colorful bruises on his stomach, and down to the bandage on his side. Leaning in, she carefully pulled the bandage back and stared at the gashes it had covered.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Miroku said quietly. "I'm pretty sure my ribs are just cracked, and I can hardly feel the bruises."

When Kagome looked back up at him, he was shocked to see she was blinking back tears. "Who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter. I really am okay."

"Miroku, of course it matters!" Kagome flushed with righteous indignation. "And you've got broken ribs! That's not 'okay.' That's nowhere near 'okay.' Now tell me who did this to you!"

"That's what we'd all like to know." Sango walked in wearing her demon-killing armor, face rosy from recent activity, and looked pointedly at Miroku. He did his best to meet her stare and wondered where the hell Inuyasha was and if the demon even understood that he wanted to speak to Kagome alone.

As if summoned, Inuyasha pushed aside the swinging door covering and poked his head inside. "Sango, I'm serious, come ba..." He trailed off as both Sango and Kagome fixed him with twin glares. "Uh. Yeah. Never mind." He threw Miroku a sympathetic look and disappeared back outside. 

Sango turned to Kagome. "He and Inuyasha came in late last night, both looking like they'd been through a war, this one drunk out of his mind, and Inuyasha refusing to answer any questions."

"I wasn't drunk," Miroku protested almost automatically, desperately trying to figure a way out of this nightmare.

Kagome look at Sango. "Inuyasha was hurt too?" She looked at Miroku, and then down at his injured side, and when her face crinkled thoughtfully he was horrified to realize she was starting to put pieces together. Kagome could be frighteningly clever at times. She looked back up at him, her mouth thinned and she swiftly rose up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sango. The two of them stared down mercilessly at Miroku, and seriously, if Buddah cared at all, the earth would open up and swallow him whole. Right now.

"Miroku, who did this to you?" Kagome asked quietly.

Miroku looked around helplessly. Shippou was watching with gleeful fascination. And was he seriously going to have this conversation with a fucking audience? 

Then Kagome stiffened. "Oh no," she murmured. "Not now."

All eyes turned to her and then the sound of raised voices were heard. One was unmistakably Inuyasha's, and the other...

"Kouga," Kagome said wearily. "I'd better get out there before they kill each other." She headed quickly out, followed by Sango; neither of them giving Miroku even a final glance.

Shippou shook his head. "You are soo lucky," he told Miroku; then he scampered after the two girls, not wanting to miss a moment of drama.

Miroku heaved a sigh and climbed stiffly to his feet. He thought he'd be grateful for any distraction. But this? Another demon who considered Kagome his, and who the hell knew what Inuyasha was going to tell him when Kouga started making his claims. Miroku slapped his bandage back into place, let out a surprised grunt because - ouch - and hastily pulled his clothes all the way on as he headed outside himself.

"...just letting you know, but if you don't think you're up for it, dog-breath -,"

"Oh, I'm up for it. I just figured I'd get warmed up by smearing you into a nasty piece of wolf-turd. Since you're already halfway there."

Fortunately Inuyasha and Kouga were still in the name calling part of their never-ending conflict. However, Inuyasha had his hand on his sword hilt, and Kouga was lowering into a crouch. All it needed was...

"Inuyasha, Kouga has come to us for help. Can't you be civil for once?"

Ah, yes. Enter Kagome.

"You taking good care of my woman, mut?"

And there was a conventional sort of retort that once uttered began the actual physical clashing, but Inuyasha went off script, glancing at Miroku and then folding his arms nonchalantly. "Not my concern anymore, asshole."

And that confused everyone, except for Miroku. And, oh yeah, this was EXACTLY how Miroku wanted things to go. But what the hell; he was getting sick of the delays. "She's not your woman, Kouga," he said quietly as he walked steadily towards the demon prince.

Kouga stared at Miroku, then at Inuyasha, back at Miroku, back to Inuyasha. "You're getting a human to fight your battles for you half-breed?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Damn, you're stupid. Even for a mangy wolf."

"I know what's mine," Kouga said forcefully.

"I told you. Kagome is not yours," Miroku replied.

"She's sure as hell not dog-shit's over there."

"No." Miroku agreed, coming to a stop just a pace from the angry and confused wolf-demon. "She's mine."

Behind him someone made a strangled sound, but Miroku could not afford to be distracted now. This had to be done exactly right, and with Kouga's shard-enhanced speed, he'd only get one chance. Thank all the gods of heaven and earth, Kouga already stood with his back to the forest.

Kouga now looked beyond confused, but fairly quickly his face hardened. "Fine, human. If you're that eager to die -,"

Miroku had raised up his right hand palm out, left hand already loosening the protective beads, and Kouga bit off his words with a sharp click of teeth. He was starting to look worried now. Good.

"You have seen what my wind tunnel can do. Believe me when I say that your speed will not save you." The edges of his glove were fluttering as the beads slipped further away. Miroku gritted his teeth as he felt the wind tunnel wake up, eager to be set free, eager to suck up everything in its path. "However, you are a strong ally against our common enemy." It was important to give Kouga a way out, and hopefully, without his pack-brothers here as silent witnesses, Kouga would take what was offered. "I would prefer we remained allies and not do our enemy's work for him."

Kouga eyed Miroku's hand cautiously, and then he nodded. "All right, human." And Miroku had to physically restrain a sigh of relief. He could show no sign of weakness or hesitation. "We'll delay this matter for the time being. But once Naraku is destroyed, I'll take what's mine." And then, with a whirl of wind and dust, he was gone.

Miroku quickly tightened his rosary back around his hand, shutting in the wind-tunnel, unspeakably grateful that he hadn't had to use it. Gathering his courage, he turned around. Inuyasha looked pleased. Sango looked stunned. Shippou looked like a difficult puzzle had finally fallen into place. And Kagome was... crying?

"Umm... so I guess there's some things I need to explain," Miroku said awkwardly.

"Yeah, but Kouga really does need some help," Inuyasha interrupted. "And though I hate the idea of helping a damn wolf, I really like the idea of pissing off Naraku."

Sango visibly shook herself and glanced concernedly at Kagome. "I'll leave Kirara," she said, speaking to Miroku, but not quite looking at him. "You and Kagome can catch up to us."

Very quietly, she, Inuyasha, and an obviously reluctant Shippou headed off in the direction Kouga had gone, leaving Miroku and Kagome alone. Miroku stared anxiously at Kagome, but she was looking down now and her bangs hid her eyes. Part of him still wanted to run; to pack up his stuff, hit the road, and never look back. But that part of him was small and wimpy and honestly outmatched by the larger part that abhorred seeing Kagome in pain. So Miroku walked over to Kagome and gathered her into his arms, rubbing her back to try and soothe away her stiffness.

"So, anyway," he started, his voice shaky, "a funny thing happened on the way back from the well."


	9. Disclosure

I apologize for the hold-up for this chapter, and its relative shortness. It is a bit of a turning point though - and hopefully it works. *insert nervous giggle here*

For those hungering for more M/K goodness, I'm part of a little Round Robin story hosted by Ms Videl Son. Check out my "Favorite stories" for a direct link. [And yes, I do realize this is a pretty shameless plug - but so?]

Once again, thanks are due to the amazingly fast beta work of Dvana. Anything not right is so me.

And much love to all of you. It is so unbelievably cool that so many of you are reading and enjoying this little labor of love. 

Chapter Nine: In which much is disclosed and our hero wobbles but does not fall down.

Kagome twisted out of Miroku's grasp and walked a few steps away from him. She laughed, a strange strangled sort of sound. "So I guess Inuyasha saw us kiss goodbye, yesterday," she said in a painfully bright voice. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later." She laughed again, and the sound of it cut at Miroku.

"Actually," he said slowly, put off balance by Kagome's behavior, "he saw us at the cave. Or heard us, I should say." He thought he'd leave off the smelling bit. There was a whole gross factor to that little fact that he really didn't want to explore. Ever.

Kagome stiffened a bit and half turned her head towards him. "The cave?" She looked away again and sighed a long watery sigh, but when Miroku started towards her, she stepped quickly away from him. "Yes, well, in the end, he caught us." And again the sharp cheerfulness ripped through her voice. She brought up a hand and wiped quickly at what Miroku just knew were tears, and then turned to face him.

Miroku sucked in a breath. She was smiling, but her smile was a painful thing, sharp and jagged and false as a kabuki mask. "So I guess you're stuck with me! Sorry about that." Her smile wavered for a moment and Miroku saw something frightened and hurt peering out; he reached for her but she turned away from him again. "Did he hurt you awfully?" And this time her voice was soft.

"Not really," Miroku said easily, desperately keeping the worry out of his voice. "It was just a little chest-pounding between guys. And I gave as good as I got. It's just he heals faster."

"So no big deal, huh?"

And there was a danger to that question. Every instinct Miroku had was screaming at him to tread very, very carefully. "I wouldn't put it like that," he said slowly, trying to buy time as his mind raced for the proper response.

"How would you put it then?" Kagome asked with pointed carelessness. "Inuyasha throws a bit of a tantrum 'cause you played with one of his toys?"

Okay, and that was definitely a death-trap of a question. Miroku started to answer, but Kagome cut him off.

"I suppose he didn't want something soiled, so he handed me off to you."

"Kagome, it wasn't -,"

"A sort of, 'you break it, you've bought it,' policy for the feudal era. I get it." And when she turned around again, fear and hurt and false cheer had been completely taken over by out and out anger. "So now instead of me being Inuyasha's burden, I'm yours. No wonder you got drunk."

Miroku started to protest, but Kagome wasn't finished. "Well, guess what?" She marched towards him with such fury, Miroku fell back a few steps. "I'm not from the feudal era, and I don't belong to anyone, and you can go hang yourself, you perverted, backwards, sexist, PIG!" By the last words Kagome was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Miroku blinked at the sudden onslaught. "I think," he said soothingly, "that we're having a bit of a misunderstanding."

Kagome stomped her foot. "Sit!"

And Miroku knew he shouldn't do it; he knew it was a really, really bad idea. But he honestly couldn't help himself -- he laughed. So Kagome hit him. Hard. And she was a healthy girl who'd been doing archery for a little while, so she was stronger than you'd guess. And he'd just fought an enraged half-demon the night before. So he didn't handle it in a very manly way. Especially since when she whacked his arm it drove his elbow into his side -- the side with the cracked ribs. He may have moaned. He definitely felt a little faint. And there was some wobbling involved. Miroku closed his eyes and concentrated on not falling over.

"Oh! Miroku, I'm sorry!" Kagome gripped his arms while he fought to get his sense of balance back. "Are you okay?"

Miroku took a breath and straightened up as best he could. "I'm fine." He opened his eyes and smiled reassuringly down at Kagome. "Do not trouble yourself, Kagome."

Which was the wrong thing to say apparently. Because the soft concern on Kagome's face withered into stony reserve and her lips thinned in anger. "No. Of course not. Why should I 'trouble' myself?" She put an odd emphasis on the word 'trouble,' gave him a pointed glare and then marched into Lady Kaede's cottage. Miroku wondered if any man at any time had ever understood women -- and if his brain had exploded from the effort.

When he entered the cottage, Kagome had pulled everything out of her yellow bag and was busy reorganizing the contents into two piles while muttering darkly under her breath. A wise man would flee. Miroku considered that course of action for a brief moment and then shrugged. He'd always been a fool for women; why should he stop now? So he carefully sank down in a spot just beyond arm's reach of Kagome and leaned back against the wall. "I am sorry, Kagome," he said gravely. One thing he did know: when in doubt -- apologize.

Kagome sat back on her heels and stared down at the book she was holding. "It all sounds so good on paper," she said quietly. She looked up at Miroku, her eyes large and dark and beautiful. "Two gorgeous guys fighting over you -- it sounds so romantic." She grimaced and looked down at her book. "Except it's not romantic; it's not even flattering. It's stupid and embarrassing and..." She sighed and set her book carefully down on one of the piles.

"Because the thing is, Inuyasha doesn't love me. I'm a responsibility to him. A duty. And Kouga doesn't love me, either. I mean, how could he? He doesn't even know me. I'm just a neat little novelty. And a challenge, I guess. If there wasn't an Inuyasha to fight, I bet he'd have gotten over me a long time ago."

She was selling herself short, Miroku thought. The fights he'd witnessed had more to them than simple duty or challenge. But he stayed quiet. It seemed best, at the moment, to simply listen.

Kagome tucked an errant lock of thick black hair behind her ear. She looked at him for a moment and then her gaze skittered away to a point somewhere over his shoulder. "It's stupid. You're going to think I'm so stupid, but the lessons you were giving me..." Kagome blushed and looked down at her hands, nervously gripped in her lap. "Our little arrangement -- it was something for me to... I mean, it was for me. And you, of course. I hope, anyway. But..." Her fists clenched and she looked up at him with fierce eyes. "You saw me. You looked at me, and you didn't see some duty or novelty, you saw me. And I really, really liked it -- being seen I mean."

Everything that was in Miroku wanted to hold her, to pull her into his arms and never let go. He started to shift towards her, but his damn body wouldn't cooperate. He winced at the sudden pain, and then Kagome was looking away, shutting him out once more.

"Only now I'm a duty again. Inuyasha caught us, and you did the honorable thing, and I'm back to being a stupid duty." She was crying again, and she wiped angrily at her tears. "I know. It's stupid. I mean, what am I complaining about? You've been very nice to me, and..." Her face crumbled into complete misery. "Oh God, Miroku, I didn't mean to trap you! I'm so sorry!"

This time Miroku ignored his body's protests, and he pushed himself to Kagome and gathered her into his arms, and she clung to him, and buried her face in his neck and sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed. 

After a little while, he felt her calm down and her grip on him loosened, but he didn't let her go. "You're right, you know," he said quietly. "You are being stupid." Kagome stiffened in his arms and started to push away, but still he refused to let her go. "A duty? Oh, Kagome, how can you not see? My life has been so empty, so barren and, fool that I am, I thought that was how it should be. But then you came along and flung yourself at me," Kagome made a squeak of protest, but Miroku ignored her, "and gave me everything of yourself, all of your friendship and trust and hope." 

He carefully shifted Kagome until they were looking at each other. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Kagome nodded solemnly. "You kidnaped me and stole my bicycle."

"Well, I've always known how to make a memorable entrance," Miroku said, and Kagome giggled. "Remember how you threw yourself into the pull of my wind-tunnel? You terrified me. I thought I was going to kill this beautiful, innocent, completely crazy, girl. Fortunately I just ended up flat on my back with you plastered on top of me."

"And then you grabbed my ass."

"I sure as hell did." Miroku grinned down at Kagome and then his face turned serious. "What I should have done was rolled us over and buried myself in you and claimed you right then and there."

"Inuyasha would have killed you."

"He would have tried." Something fierce and primitive rose up in Miroku. "You don't belong to Inuyasha. You never have. You belong to me."

Kagome sniffed and her eyes closed. "Miroku, don't. You don't have to say these things."

"But I do; I do have to. Kagome, look at me. Please."

Reluctantly, Kagome opened her eyes and looked up at him, and Miroku thought his heart would burst with the feelings she roused in it. And then, strangely, he was the one wanting to look away. "I, um... I wasn't completely honest about what happened between Inuyasha and me." Kagome blinked and a flash of curiosity crossed her face. Miroku gave in to weakness and fixed his gaze on the sunlight playing across the cottage floor.

"He was really, really angry and... I mean he's a damn good warrior when he wants to be. Everyone knows that. Plus I was holding a blanket. And then there was the rain, and..." Miroku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He had me beat, Kagome. It wasn't even a contest. He could have killed me ten times over." And shit, but this was not the way Miroku usually went about impressing women. He risked a peek down at Kagome and she was still looking at him and she didn't seem disappointed or disgusted so he kept on going.

"He offered me a way out, you know. All I had to do was agree to never touch you again." Miroku suddenly squeezed Kagome against him. Which his ribs protested mightily, so he loosened his grip and decided he was really tired of being injured.

Unaware of his body's malfunctions Kagome stared up at him questioningly. "Why didn't you? Why didn't you take the out?"

"I... I just couldn't. Never touching you again, letting someone else have you... I just couldn't. So, I, umm..." Miroku dropped his voice down to a mutter. "I tried to kill Inuyasha."

"What?" Kagome looked at him in wide-eyed surprise. "You?"

Miroku wasn't quite sure how to take her apparent disbelief. "I'm not a bad fighter myself, you know," he said a little sullenly.

"But, that's just so unlike you. You're usually so calm and rational."

"Yeah, well," Miroku smiled tiredly down at Kagome, "you take away my reason."

Kagome's bottom lip quivered and to Miroku's horror, she started crying again. Flinging her arms around him she buried her face in his neck. "Oh Miroku! That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me!"

Which confused the hell out of Miroku, but he decided to go with it. He ran his hand through Kagome's hair. "So, you don't mind? Being stuck with me, I mean?"

Kagome giggled, which combined with her crying to produce some very unladylike snorts. Sitting back up she sniffled a bit and wiped away her latest tears. "I guess to keep Inuyasha safe, I'll have to put up with you," she said with a watery smile. Then she suddenly looked thoughtful. "I will have to talk to Lady Kaede about getting you fitted for a collar, though."

"Ah, so you wish to learn of that form of play," Miroku said smoothly, while his heart tried to burst out of his chest. "I should tell you that I usually prefer to take the more... masterly role."

Kagome frown of confusion turned to beet red understanding. "Miroku! You pervert!" She hit his shoulder a few times.

"Ah, ah, ah," Miroku said, wagging a finger at her. "That would be my job."

Kagome seemed to be having a hard time breathing. "You - you -," she sputtered. "You're impossible!" And then she was laughing and hugging him and okay, it wasn't helpful to his ribs, but Miroku couldn't imagine trying to stop her. "Oh, Miroku, I do love you."

Silence reigned. Neither of them moved or even breathed. "Really?" Miroku didn't recognize his own voice, it was so high pitched and breathy. He used Kagome's shoulders to push her back so he could look at her. "Kagome, really?" Her face was white and her eyes were huge and he'd never seen her look so terrified before. "Because," he cleared his throat nervously, "because, Kagome... I- I love you, too."

And she closed her eyes and color rushed back into her face. And then she opened her eyes and she smiled at him and Miroku could feel himself smiling back at her; and for one moment, one precious moment, he forgot about his injuries, and his mission, and the death-curse Naraku had put on his family, and he finally glimpsed true bliss.

Later, when time started up again and they were making motions to rejoin the others in the battle against evil, Miroku asked Kagome about the two piles she'd created.

"Umm, actually..." she blushed and looked away. "Those are things that are square, and those are things that aren't. Square, I mean." She glanced up at him. "What? I was angry!"

And when they were on Kirara's back rushing towards their friends, Miroku held Kagome close, and planted kisses along her neck and traced the delicate shell of her ear with his tongue until she melted against him and made that wonderful sound in her throat that went straight to his gut, so he stopped before he did something that would deeply offend Kirara. "Later," he murmured to Kagome.

"Mmm, yes," she replied. And that sure as hell sounded like a promise to him.

  
  
  
  



	10. Debate

SHOCK! I'm not dead - the story isn't dead - and I updated! Surely the apocalypse is nigh! Or, you know, I finally got my butt in gear. Heh. Anyway - sorry (again) for the delay. This chapter was a bit of a tussle. And it's not even a lemon. Nor is it beta'd. I'm heading out of town and I promised myself I'd get this posted – so I'm gritting my teeth and throwing it out there. Please be gentle.

Chapter Ten: In which our hero becomes the subject of a debate and wounds are healed.

Miroku groaned with deep pleasure as he stretched, newly appreciative of his body's natural flexibility. After being bound for so long by the constraint of injured ribs, the ability to move freely was like a little taste of heaven.

"Feels good, huh?" Kagome knelt in front of him, a sympathetic smile flickering across her face, the bandages that had been around his chest an untidy pile by her knees.

Miroku met her smile with a wicked grin of his own. "Oh, yeah," he said throatily. "But I can think of a few things that would feel even better."

A deep flush flowed over Kagome's cheeks and she glanced over at the nearby campsite and those gathered around it. Miroku ignored her sudden fluster and pulled her onto his lap so that she sat with her legs straddling his and her hands braced against his bare chest. "Did you want me to demonstrate?" he murmured into her ear and thrust his hips suggestively.

Kagome gave a startled eep and turned an even deeper shade of red. "Miroku," she said breathlessly.

"Hey, I can hear you guys, you know." Inuyasha didn't turn around, but his ears were flickering back and forth like crazy.

Miroku chuckled. "Sorry," he said and allowed Kagome to wiggle off of his lap in a deliciously teasing way. The fact that she was doing it unconsciously only added to his delight.

Inuyasha snorted, apparently not too convinced of the sincerity of Miroku's apology. Which just went to show the dog demon was not as dense as he often acted.

Kagome, pretending that absolutely nothing had happened and her face was normally that color thank you very much, walked with quiet dignity towards Sango. "Is there anymore – ," she was saying as she sat down next to Sango, but Sango didn't let her finish.

"I'd better get some more firewood," Sango said abruptly, standing up quickly and refusing to look at Kagome. "We don't want to run out." Walking away from the campsite, Sango was soon swallowed up by the forest shadows, Kirara disappearing after her.

Miroku winced. Sango had been acting standoffish since the big scene with Kouga, but this was the most obvious she'd ever been. Kagome stared after her with a look of hurt bewilderment, and Miroku ached for her. He hastily pulled his robes back into place and started towards Kagome, all set to cover her in comfort. But then she glanced at something and stiffened, hurt suddenly replaced with indignation. Following the direction of her eyes, Miroku realized she was staring at the large pile of firewood that had been gathered when the campsite was first set up.

Kagome's hands clenched into fists. "Okay, that's it." Getting to her feet, Kagome marched into the forest after Sango.

"Kagome?" Shippou leapt up from where he'd been huddling next to Inuyasha, the both of them doing their best to be invisible while the scene between the two girls played out. "Wait, Kagome!" Shippou's mad dash was brought up short by Inuyasha's iron grip on the fox kit's fluffy tail. "Let go of me you big bully!"

Inuyasha still stared into his cup of instant raman like it held the mysteries of the universe in its depths, but his ears had perked up from their flattened position and were now flickering in the direction the two girls had taken. "Believe me, runt. This is one fight you do not want to get in the middle of," he said as Shippou pulled desperately at his tail.

"Fight? They're going to fight!?" If anything Shippou looked even more panicked. "We have to stop them!"

Miroku sighed. "No, Shippou. They've been dancing around each other for too long. Best to get the air cleared now, before another battle comes upon us." And though he knew that what he told the little fox demon was true, it didn't comfort Miroku at all. After all, there was no guarantee things would end well, and he hated the idea of a rift between the two girls. They'd been such good friends. Strangely enough, he felt more pity for Sango. He hated the way she'd been treating Kagome, but in the end, Sango had more to loose. He really hoped they'd come to some sort of understanding.

"Where do you think you're going, monk?"

Miroku looked up in surprise at Inuyasha's question. And then he smiled sheepishly as he realized that he'd been drifting into the forest himself. "Sorry. I'm just worried." He sat down across from Inuyasha and Shippou and stared into the wavering red coals of the fire pit. "But it's not like they'll kill each other," he said and hoped he sounded convincing.

"Heh. They'd have to find each other first."

Miroku looked up at Inuyasha. "What?"

Inuyasha grinned back at him. "Kagome is crashing around out there like a million man army. Girl couldn't be quiet crossing a meadow. It's no wonder she's always being grabbed by passing demons."

Shippou clutched at Inuyasha's sleeve. "Are there demons?" he squeaked worriedly.

Inuyasha snorted. "Nah. Think I'd let her or Sango go if there was –," Inuyasha started laughing suddenly. "And now she's hollering for Sango." His ears flickered and he twisted around a little towards what Miroku assumed was Kagome's current location. "If Sango's smart she'll reveal herself soon. Never let Kagome get a full anger going," he said wisely. "She'll just – Oh. They found each other."

Miroku waited breathlessly. Inuyasha started sucking up raman. "Well?" Miroku prompted.

Inuyasha looked up at him blankly. "Well what?"

Miroku resisted the urge to punch the half-demon, but only because he'd had years of Buddhist training.

Shippou, who lacked the discipline such training brought, whacked Inuyasha in the arm. "Are they killing each other, you big stupid head?"

Inuyasha's eyes gleamed with poorly hid amusement and Miroku rolled his eyes. "Come on Inuyasha, you know you want to tell us just as badly as we want to hear."

"Alright, alright," Inuyasha said with mock exasperation. He slurped up the last of his raman and turned back towards the forest. "So we're in the boring part right now. Sango's saying nothing's wrong, blah, blah, blah." He paused for a moment, his ears flickering. "Kagome is definitely not buying it. Damn!" Inuyasha's eye's widened in surprise.

"What? What?" Shippou danced up and down beside Inuyasha.

"Sango just called Kagome a sex-crazed maniac."

"She did not!" Miroku could not imagine a statement like that coming from Sango's mouth. Especially as it related to Kagome.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Not in those exact words," he allowed. "But she does think Kagome's too wrapped up in you to notice anyone else around her." Inuyasha listened for a moment. "Now she's saying Kagome's been staring at you all googoo eyed and it's disgusting." Inuyasha grinned at Miroku. "Hell, I just think it's funny." His ears flickered. "Damn, Sango's really letting it all out -- oh crap. She just called Kagome a slut."

Miroku's eyes widened.

"What's a slut?" Shippou asked.

"Erm... well..." Miroku racked his brain for a diplomatic definition.

"Girl who'll fuck anything," Inuyasha said succinctly but absently, concentrating on what was going on in the forest.

"That's not true!" Shippou said angrily. "Why would Sango say such a thing?"

"Is that really what Sango said?" Miroku asked Inuyasha.

"Eh, she implied it," Inuyasha waved his hand vaguely. "Now, shut-up, they're talking about me." Suddenly he stiffened indignantly. "That's a fucking lie," he muttered. "I never lead her – Oh." And then he was blushing and laughing embarrassedly. "Well, I guess that's okay then."

"Inuyasha," Miroku growled through clenched teeth, "it'd be helpful if you summarized."

Inuyasha blinked at Miroku, like he'd forgotten he had an audience. "Oh. Yeah. Sango said that Kagome had hopped from me to Kouga to you which was 'unseemly,' and Kagome said that Sango knew better than that, and that she, Sango that is, knew that Kagome had been in love with, um..." Inuyasha blushed some more, and coughed nervously. "Anyway, the short version is Kagome loves us both, but I'm like a brother and you're like a mate, and Kouga is a worthless piece of wolf-shit."

Miroku snorted in disbelief. "Kagome said that about Kouga?"

"It was implied," Inuyasha said easily. Then his face twisted with worry. "Oh shit, now Sango's crying."

"Did Kagome hit her?" Shippou asked worriedly.

"They haven't hit that stage yet, runt."

"Hopefully, they've skipped right over that stage," Miroku added quietly.

"Sango's saying she's feeling all left out, and Miroku was supposed to be hers."

Miroku started in surprise. "What?" Guilt twisted Miroku's stomach in knots. He had flirted with Sango a lot, but she'd known it was all in good fun, hadn't she?

Inuyasha, unaware of Miroku's distress, continued on. "I was supposed to marry Kagome, and Miroku was supposed to marry her and we were all going to live in her old village, and Kagome and I were going to have twelve children, and she and Miroku were going to have six, and..." Inuyasha stopped to catch his breath looking a little stunned. "Fuck, she had it all planned out. Right down to names and engagements." He glanced down at Shippou. "You were supposed to marry her first daughter, little Suzumi."

Shippou gaped up at Inuyasha, rendered speechless for probably the first time in his life.

Inuyasha laughed and looked at Miroku, his eyes wild around the edges. "Sango's a little crazy, huh."

"Well, uh, she's gone through some major trauma, and I guess she was looking for stability wherever she could find it. Actually," Miroku started to warm to his subject, "it makes sense that she would start searching for a way to rebuild her family. So of course she fell in love with the first handsome and obviously virile man she came across, and then –,"

"Now Kagome's crying," Inuyasha interrupted, clearly uninterested in Miroku's theories. He made a face. "Blech. We've entered the mucky stage."

"What happens in that stage?" Shippou asked curiously.

"It's where they cry and hug and get tears and snot all over themselves," Inuyasha said with obvious disapproval. "Damn, I was hoping for a little hair-pulling." He stared into the fire, his ears still twitching occasionally. Both Shippou and Miroku watched him anxiously. Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome's telling Sango that she's never left out, and Kagome loves her. Sango's saying the same back. Blah, blah, blah."

"What about Miroku?" Shippou asked, and Miroku silently thanked the little kit for asking the question he couldn't bring himself to raise.

"Nothing yet, runt. They're still just hugging."

A heavy silence settled over the campfire, broken only by the occasional crack and pop of the burning firewood. Miroku tried to lose himself in a little fantasy of Kagome and Sango hugging each other, only naked and not crying, but guilt refused to let him play.

Finally, Inuyasha shifted. "Sango's not in love with you."

"What?" Miroku felt strangely deflated. "I thought she wanted to marry –,"

"Don't ask me, monk. I'm just telling you what she's saying. And she says you're pretty enough, just too weird."

"Weird?"

"Perverted, childish, detached," Inuyasha listed out quickly, a sly grin tickling the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Miroku interrupted him dryly. He should have known not to ask.

"Kagome agrees with her."

"What?" Miroku's stomach knotted back up. Had Kagome just been playing with him? Or was she acting out of pity? All of his old fears, the tormenting doubts that Kagome had slain with a laughed confession, were resurrecting with a vengeance.

"At least about the perverted bit," Inuyasha continued on, blithely unaware of Miroku's anxiety. "Only she – oh fuck." Inuyasha's face flushed an alarming shade of red and his ears pressed flat to his head. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Inuyasha slapped his hands over his ears and hunched down low, looking for all the world like someone about to be set upon by the worst demons in existence.

Miroku grabbed up his staff and leapt to his feet. "What's wrong? Inuyasha, are they being attacked?"

"I wish," Inuyasha moaned. He closed his eyes and shuddered. "I don't want to be hearing this," he muttered. "Why are women so damn shameless?"

"Kagome isn't shameless," Shippou said stoutly, plainly confused by what was going on, but unwilling to allow Kagome's good name to be besmirched.

Miroku, however, suddenly realized what was happening and it was with a great sense of relief that he settled back down by the fire. "If you pay attention, you could learn something," he said smoothly, very carefully not smiling when Inuyasha opened his eyes enough to glare at him. "Or you could try humming," he added helpfully. And then he couldn't help grinning when Inuyasha broke into desperate, out of key, humming.

Shippou shifted carefully away from Inuyasha, clearly afraid that the half-demon had gone slightly mad. He snuggled up against Miroku and blinked up at the amused monk. "What's wrong with Inuyasha?" he asked.

"Kagome and Sango are discussing a topic Inuyasha would rather know nothing about," Miroku said with an almost smug smile.

Shippou looked confused for a moment and then his face scrunched up into what Miroku recognized as his deep thinking expression. "Miroku...," the little fox-demon muttered, "...perverted..., ...don't want to know..." And his face cleared into understanding. "They're talking about you and Kagome and sex, right?"

Inuyasha's humming broke into a growl. "Shippou, if you don't shut up, I will kill you." Inuyasha glared so that they'd know he was serious, and then he settled back into his hunched and humming state.

"I'm right," Shippou said confidently. "Good. They're done fighting."

Miroku absently patted the little kit on the head as he stared into the fire. Kagome and Sango were friends again; he was completely healed from Inuyasha's little rite of initiation. An idea that had been a minor tickle was turning into a full fledge plan. Barring any unexpected activity from Naraku, the time was ripe for him to receive payment from a certain grateful innkeeper he'd helped out of a messy curse a few summers ago. After all, he had promised Kagome he'd be a good teacher. It was high time for her final lesson.


End file.
